


when time stood still

by screaminghalfpastmidnight



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Bisexual Iris West, Reporter!Iris, Season/Series 02, Season/Series 03, Team as Family, a rewrite by someone who may or may not actually know how to write women oops, but i still like it, caitlin snow fanclub, everyone is respected, for now, give me female relationships !, im not sorry writers, iris west fan club, other arrowverse characters will be appearing, spallen and snowest are endgame but respect all ships, this is self indulgent and not meant to be my serious pieces of work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:34:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 45,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24958450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/screaminghalfpastmidnight/pseuds/screaminghalfpastmidnight
Summary: “Girl, you just got kidnapped.” Iris laughs, leaning against the wall.Patty bats her hand as if to brush it off. “I did that like a month ago, too. Old news. This means there’s another eight billion people who live in a world where the Nazi’s won World War II. That’s terrible!”Joe shakes his head, clapping Barry on the shoulder as if to say good luck. Barry just clasps his hand with his own and nods happily as Cisco points straight at Patty and says, “I think we’re gonna be best friends.”ORa rewrite of the flash by someone who likes to think she can write women better than the flash writers (not that its hard)starting at 2x10, probably gonna go all the way up to season five; spallen snowest-centric as well as this entire team getting the screentime and storylines they deservey'all can pretend this is some earth-1 stuff or pretend this is like earth-329 or somethinthis is self-indulgent but also i wish the flash writers would not do the women dirty and actually have healthy relationships between all these characters without putting another one down to do it. caitlin and iris should've been close. that's just a fact. i just made them gay because it's what i deserve
Relationships: Barry Allen & Iris West, Barry Allen/Patty Spivot, Caitlin Snow/Iris West
Comments: 20
Kudos: 10





	1. everything has changed

**Author's Note:**

> i just wish the flash writers knew how to accurately write women. like you have a BLACK FEMALE LEAD and in the first and second seasons you give her no storyline other than the fact that she's barry's future love interest? no. MISS IRIS ANN WEST DESERVES BETTER.
> 
> so does caitlin snow. i wish more than anything that the flash SHOWED us things rather than just being like "iris and caitlin are friends" no we deserved to see caitlin helping iris through eddies death and iris being caitlin's first ever girl-friend (and later girlfriend bc they're my guilty ship)
> 
> not to mention, they did not handle patty well at ALL. like i do 100% ship westallen and knew they were always gonna be endgame, but COME ON. patty pulling a zayn on barry and barry being like "ok bye" was stupid. he practically said he was falling in love with her. i needed her badassery on team flash to go along w miss iris and miss caitlin. besides, she was hella good for barry i said what i said. 
> 
> in this house, we respect all the women of team flash, not just as love interests, but as WOMEN with their own personalities and storylines. i love them so much im sorry
> 
> also. this is so so self-indulgent and i fully wrote it for my own enjoyment so don't expect this to be my best body of work or something im like. expecting praise on. my braincells go into my other fics on here.

When Patty approaches her about Barry, she genuinely feels sorry for the girl. Iris knows Barry’s totally obsessed with her (in a good way) and it reminds Iris of a time when Eddie was working with the Flash and couldn’t tell her, instead opting to close himself off. She understands her relationship with Eddie is different than the one between Patty and her best friend, but if Iris had known, it would’ve saved a lot of fights and worrying. She does her best to keep their relationship intact while making sure Patty feels heard. She really likes her and wouldn’t mind getting closer if Barry decides that this thing between them is gonna be worth it in the end. Ever since Linda moved to keep herself safe from Zoom, Iris has been lonely.

When she tells Barry about it, his stress level rises a little too quickly and she thinks Patty’s right to be worried about him. “She mentioned you were having… nightmares?”

He pauses before sighing and nodding his head. “About Zoom… killing her.”

She remembers when he first came to live in the West house and he had nightmares every other night. He didn’t want to talk about them back then either. “Look, Barr. I understand this is tricky. Especially after how much we’ve already lost, but if you’re serious about being with Patty, you’re gonna have to tell her the truth. I mean, if it turns out that you fall in serious love with this girl, keeping this a secret forever just isn’t logical.”

He nods a few times, agreeing. “I _am_ serious about her. So, I guess I’m going to tell her that I’m the Flash.” She’s pissed Wally didn’t show up, but if that gave her the chance to fix her friend’s relationship, she can’t be too upset.

Barry keeps her updated throughout her workday, sending her the plan for the art show. She doesn’t think telling your girlfriend that you’re a superhero while disguising your heist as a date is a good idea, but at least he’s doing it. Harry and Caitlin aren’t on board, but Cisco thinks she’s a badass, which Iris knows to be true. She understands the risks and while she doesn’t want to see Patty get hurt or taken like Harry’s daughter, it’s easier to keep yourself safe when you know what you’re up against.

She’s still working, avoiding going home to think about Eddie (she’s been doing that a lot lately; her fiancé never got to meet her brother or her mother and she can’t help but wonder what he’d say to her right now) when Barry shows up, flustered and looking for even more best-friend-advice. 

“So, we went to the gala, Turtle showed up and almost killed Patty and then I got knocked out and Cait and Jay carried me to the van and Patty thinks that I just left her there. So, then I went over and she was really upset and basically told me that she wants us to be serious and I have to figure out what I want.” He says, practically all in one breath. Iris frowns, spinning around in her chair to look at him.

“I thought you knew what you wanted. Her.” She keeps her tone lowered so that none of her coworkers overhear them talking about metavillains and near-death experiences.

Barry lets out a sharp breath, shaking his head. “I know, I know. I do want her, but she almost died tonight, Iris… and it wasn’t even Zoom, it was just another meta.”

Iris can’t help but let out a laugh at that. “Barr, doesn’t that just show that she’s already in danger and telling her isn’t going to change that? Putting aside the fact that she deserves to know what’s going on with her _boyfriend_ , doesn’t she deserve to know how much danger you’re inevitably putting her in?”

She raises her eyebrows as he sighs defeatedly, nodding again. He hesitates before speaking again, seriously. “Do you think I’ve already blew it?”

Iris leans forward, placing her hand on his knee from where he’s sitting on her desk. “Not if you go back to her now and explain _clearly_ what you want out of your relationship _and_ tell her the truth about your other half, as well as why you didn’t tell her. It might help to bring her to Star Labs and introduce her to everyone, explain to her just how big of a threat he really is. I’ll come with you.”

He places his hand on top of hers, squeezing once. “Thank you. I love you.” He kisses her once on the cheek before he’s off, leaving her to roll her eyes fondly at his (and apparently all of Team Flash’s) hopelessness when it comes to love.

It’s only fifteen minutes later that her dad texts her to say that Patty’s been taken by Turtle and he’s on his way to Star Labs so that the team can start working on it, to which she decides she’s more needed there as a friend rather than here as a journalist, and makes her way over. When she gets there, Joe’s just arrived and Barry’s pacing like a maniac. She considers sending him a sympathetic look but if it were her in his position, that would just piss her off.

“Bear, we’ll find her.” Her dad says, as Cisco shakes his head, staring at the screen in front of him.

“I’m not getting any leads on this guy, it’s like he’s totally fallen off the grid.” He says, pointing at the computer. “Any of the stuff he’s stolen, I can’t find it.”

“He keeps them.” Harry jumps in, an insightful look on his features. “He keeps them like a serial killer collects trophies.”

Caitlin shakes her head, looking at Joe. “He’s stolen a lot of stuff.”

Joe snaps his fingers, pointing. “Which means, he needs a lot of space to store it, right?”

“Maybe he rented a storage space?” Iris suggests, only to be struck down by Cisco moments later. 

“Wait a minute. His ex-wife used to be an archivist for antiquities at the Naydel library before it shut down.” He types into the computer. “And it shut down three months after the accelerator exploded.”

Iris nods, putting a hand on Cisco’s shoulder as a way to say _good work_. “That’s big enough, right?” Barry’s gone moments later, despite Jay’s points about him not being able to neutralize Turtle’s power.

\--

When it’s over and the Turtle’s knocked out, Patty clinging to the Flash like her life depends on it (Barry doesn’t want to think about the fact that it actually did), he kneels in front of her, glancing at Turtle one last time, and pulls his mask off. He hears her breath hitch and looks up, taking in the unshed tears in her eyes and the frown on her face and he thinks, _this is it_. 

He apologizes immediately because even if him being the Flash is not a good enough reason to her for the way he’s been acting, she deserves that much and he’s gotta know he said it. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. I have a reason, I swear. And I’m sorry that I didn’t immediately tell you how I felt earlier today. I know what I want and I want you.”

A ghost of a smile appears across her lips and he hears a few coos in his comms from his various teammates that makes him chuckle and before he knows it, she’s kissing him square on the lips and he knows without a doubt that he made the right decision. She pulls away and uses one hand to cup his cheek and it makes him smile a little too wide as her thumb slides over the skin under his eye. “It’s okay. There’s a lot we need to talk about but we’ll be okay.”

He grins just as he hears Caitlin go _that is so freaking cute!_ in the comms and he decides he has to take care of Turtle so his best friends can stop listening in on his make up with his girlfriend. He pulls his mask on and squeezes her hands. “I’ll come right back for you.”

And he does, like no time has passed except Turtle is locked in a pipeline cell and Patty is suddenly in a curved hallway at Star Labs, Barry (in plain clothes) walking beside her, arm slung over her shoulders. She mumbles, “I’m gonna need to get used to that.” and puts her arm around his waist, chuckling along with him. He takes her into what he tells her is the Cortex, where everyone is waiting for her with expectant smiles on their faces. Iris runs up and hugs her, mumbling grateful words that she’s alright and Joe pulls her in next. “Me too, partner.”

“Thank you.” She smiles back as Caitlin makes her way over, a navy sweatshirt in her hands.

“Your honorary Star Labs crewneck. Everyone gets one on their first visit.” Patty takes it gratefully, pulling it on. Barry fixes her hair, pulling it out of the back of the neckhole without her even asking and they share a soft smile between them.

He grabs her hand afterwards, squeezing it. “So, I’m pretty sure you already know everyone here except for Harry, I think.”

“Actually, she shot me.” Harry interjects seriously, then takes a sip from his mug. 

Patty frowns, bouncing on her feet nervously, looking at Joe. “Is he _not_ a murderer anymore?”

The room laughs as Barry answers. “The Harrison Wells from this earth is. This is gonna sound a little nuts, but Harry is the Harrison Wells from Earth-2.”

Patty’s face is unreadable for a second before it morphs into a wide grin. “You’re saying the multiverse theory is right?”

Cisco gasps, looking at Barry. “Oh, she’s a nerd! I get it now.”

Joe laughs, putting his hands in his pockets, clearly surprised. “Wait, you know about the multiverse?”

Patty lets go of Barry’s hand, stepping forward. “Are you kidding? Infinite Earths all vibrating at a different frequency in the same pocket of space and time so that they can’t see each other? All I did when I was a teenager was read college research on it. This is the best day of my life.”

“Girl, you just got kidnapped.” Iris laughs, leaning against the wall. 

Patty bats her hand as if to brush it off. “I did that like a month ago, too. Old news. This means there’s another eight billion people who live in a world where the Nazi’s won World War II. That’s terrible!”

Joe shakes his head, clapping Barry on the shoulder as if to say _good luck_. Barry just clasps his hand with his own and nods happily as Cisco points straight at Patty and says, “I think we’re gonna be best friends.”

Barry steps forward, placing his hands on Patty’s shoulders. “You two can be best buds tomorrow. Patty needs sleep.” She lets him lead her away willingly, saying goodbye to everyone. “Goodnight.”

As they’re exiting the Cortex, she turns to him and gasps. “Wait. How are you always late?” He just grins and kisses her temple, running them to her apartment. 

“Are you okay to sleep here? After what happened today, I mean.” She nods at the question, wrapping her arms around his waist after he locks the door behind them. 

“As long as you’re here, I will be.” She leans up to kiss him and he smiles into it. “We still need to talk, don’t we?”

He sighs, nodding. “So, that blue speedster dressed in all black… the one who dragged Flash all over the city, to the precinct…”

Patty groans, leaning her forehead against his chin. “Oh, god. And I was so pissed at you for saying you were sick.”

“Point is,” He starts, tone so soft she can barely hear it. “He’s easily the most dangerous villain I’ve ever faced, and he’s made a promise to hurt everyone I care about. He kidnapped Harry’s daughter; he’s been trying to find her for months now and we’ve had no luck. He almost killed my ex-girlfriend. He’s sent metahumans from Earth-2 to kill me. You’re already in a lot of danger by just knowing me let alone being my girlfriend.”

He looks up, running a hand through his hair. “If this is the part where you be a hero and ask me to consider if the risks are worth it, don’t. I’m in this now.”

Barry takes a deep breath. “What if it doesn’t work?”

Patty smiles, brushing their noses together. “What if it does?”

\--

At Star Labs, Iris sticks around, pulling Caitlin into the med room. “Is something wrong?” The doctor asks, but Iris shakes her head.

“No, not at all. It’s just that Patty is going to be around a lot more and I was thinking that it might feel a little daunting for her. You know, spending time with a team that fights metavillains and is currently running from a speedster faster than Barry and… I don’t know, I was thinking it might be good for all of us if we got coffee or something, just us girls? I mean, I’ve known you for a while now but we haven’t really gotten to _know_ each other and I think with Patty being our new addition, I feel like it might be beneficial for all of us to spend some time together. Have each other as support, you know?”

Caitlin smiles warmly, nodding. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. I love these guys but it would be nice to know you too, especially if Patty’s sticking around.”

Iris grins, wringing her hands together, feeling a lot less nervous than she was before. “Okay, that’s a deal. I’ll talk to Patty tomorrow.” She turns to leave, hand on the doorknob when Cailtin stops her.

“Iris?” She turns, raising her eyebrows as if to tell her to continue when Cait looks down at the floor. “Look, the Singularity was hard for me. Losing Ronnie didn’t put me in a good place but even then, I’d already lost him before. I just feel like I should’ve reached out after what happened with Eddie and I’m sorry that I didn’t.”

“Don’t be sorry, Caitlin. We’re both still grieving. But at least, we’re going through it together, right? I can be your shoulder and you can be mine.” Caitlin nods, smile matching hers and walks over, following Iris out. Iris squeezes her arm and high-fives Cisco before she’s out the door and Caitlin, while never being the type to have lots (or any) girl-friends, is grateful Iris reached out. She did think about talking to her about Eddie, but she lost her husband on her wedding day and she didn’t feel at all prepared to help someone else with their grief while still dealing with her own. She’s realizing the team has a terrible track record with losing loved ones and with Barry deciding Patty’s someone he wants around, she hopes they don’t continue the trend.


	2. to be free

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i cant wait until this story has some LEGS. i miss season two so much

“So, sometime in the future, Eobard Thawne will be born and grow to be the Flash’s arch-nemesis and then travel to the past and kill your mother so that you would never become the Flash but in doing so, trapped himself in our time for fifteen years and ended up having to create you anyway. Am I right so far?”

Barry nods at her from his place on the bed, smiling a little at her stance; pacing the room with her hands on her hips. She sighs, continuing on. “So, he helps you become the Flash so that he could eventually go back to his time, all while posing as the Harrison Wells of this earth, that he killed. Then, you found out his plan, realized he was playing you this entire time and erased him from existence?”

He leans up, resting on the back of his hands. “Uh, no. Not me. Iris’ fiancé did. Eobard Thawne was a descendant of Eddie Thawne and so, right when he was about to kill me, Eddie killed himself so Eobard would never exist.”

Patty frowns, becoming more serious as she sits herself down on his lap, arms around his neck. “If I didn’t understand why you didn’t tell me before, I definitely do now.” He smiles weakly, tightening his grip on her waist. “Iris must still be so sad. I can’t imagine having to go through that.”

He nods. “She is. We all are. We owe him everything.” He misses Eddie everyday and he’s not sure the guilt will ever leave. Even talking about him can be hard, but he knows it’s worse for Iris so whenever she mentions him, he does his best to be a good listener.

“How does Zoom tie into this?”

“The day Eobard disappeared was also the day of the Singularity; that big black hole in the sky. That was the day that I decided to run to the past and save my mother’s life. But when I got there, future me, the one from Thawne’s time who saved my life, shook his head as if he knew exactly what I was doing. So, instead I just said goodbye to her. Then, I returned here and the Singularity ended up being a breach to Earth-2, where Zoom reigned terror on all its inhabitants and then he sent a bunch of metas here to kill me. He wants to be the best, the fastest, the _only_ speedster.”

She pauses, not sure what to say before muttering, “He sounds like a dick.” Barry laughs out loud and pulls her down onto the bed with him so they’re face-to-face. 

“He is.” He chuckles. “Total dick.” He grins wide, cupping her cheek with one hand and planting a kiss on her lips. He feels… _lighter_. He’s still terrified that Zoom will go after Patty, but he’d be just as terrified with Joe or Iris or Cisco. And being with Patty isn’t something he wants to give up. He’d be willing to, if it kept her safe, but having someone to go home to at the end of the day, someone to make everything easier with a kiss, is something that can only benefit him. And Patty’s a good kisser, anyways. A really good one.

“Here’s what I don’t get.” She says once they pull away, laughing when he rolls his eyes at her. “If he hated you so much, why did he confess to your mother’s murder?”

Barry’s face twists into a frown and he shakes his head sadly. “I don’t know. He’s a master manipulator, I’m sure he had his reasons and I’m sure they were far from good. But he’s gone now. _And_ … instead of talking about Thawne, I’d much rather kiss you.”

The smile on her face is so so worth it and he leans in, pressing her into the pillow, smiling as her hands go into his hair. He only pulls away when his phone buzzes, a photo of him and Cisco lighting up the screen as he gives her one last kiss, grabbing the phone and pulling it up to his ear. Patty can tell from the look on his face that something is wrong and shifts her position, pulling her shoes and jacket on.

When he flashes them over to Star Labs, Turtle is dead in his cell. 

“He better not be pullin’ a Juliet.” Cisco says seriously. “Yeah, I’ve seen plays.”

Caitlin shakes her head. “He’s dead, Cisco. Acute Brain Aneurysm.”

“The night we captured him.” Jay looks towards Harry accusingly. “How’s that for timing?”

“What does that mean? You think I did this, Garrick? This man is the key to stopping Zoom, the key to saving my daughter. Why would I want that?”

Jay huffs. “I’ve never understood why you do anything, Harrison.”

Patty does what she does best, the thing that’s kept her alive as a detective; she observes. Barry doesn’t notice, too busy looking at Caitlin’s scans but his girlfriend’s taking mental notes, locking them away for later. Soon enough, Barry gets sick of their bickering and tells them that their focus should be on stopping Zoom. He suggests figuring out a way to close the breaches and Harry agrees, Cisco following him out of the room. “Patty and I gotta get to CCPD. We’ll check in later.”

When they get there, they part ways almost immediately and Patty is surprised to find Iris leaning against her desk and Joe nowhere in sight. She walks over, putting her jacket on the back of the chair and setting her bag down. “Hey, Iris. Uh, Barry’s upstairs.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m um, here to see you, actually.” She smiles, her hands clasped together. “Caitlin and I were talking and we thought it might be fun for maybe the three of us to go do something together. The team can be kind of overwhelming and we want you to feel welcome and a part of it. Not to mention, the addition of another badass female is definitely something to celebrate. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’re definitely surrounded by men.”

Patty nods, giggling as she plops down in her seat. “I have noticed. That would be great, though. Thank you.”

“Of course. You’re doing us a favour, really. I mean, Caitlin and I should’ve done it a while ago we were just… dealing with a lot, I guess.” If Patty notices the far-off look in Iris’ eyes at the comment, she doesn’t say anything about it. “So, yeah. Is tonight okay?”

“Sure thing.” A smile spreads across Iris’ cheeks, previous thoughts of Eddie forgotten as she waves goodbye, heading up to Barry’s lab. He lights up when he sees her, the mound of cases he’s got not helping his current mindset, which consists of _Catch Zoom Catch Zoom Catch Zoom_. “I just convinced your girlfriend to spend her night with Caitlin and I. Cisco isn’t gonna be her best friend, I am. Boom!”

“Hey! I wanted to hang out with her tonight!” Barry laughs, despite his whiny tone.

“Too slow.” Iris says and then snorts when she catches herself. “That’s ironic.”

Barry’s face drops when he notices Joe step into the room, able to tell when something’s wrong from the years he spent living under his roof. Iris turns too, her heart stopping at the fear that something went wrong. Joe sighs. “I just saw Francine… she doesn’t have much time left. I just said my goodbyes, if you want to do the same.”

Iris takes a deep breath, squeezing Barry’s hand back when he takes hers and nods. She knew it was coming, but it still comes as a surprise. They didn’t know just how long she had left and now the mother she never knew is dying. She lets her dad wrap an arm around her and lead her out of the building. The car ride is completely silent and she appreciates how well her father knows her, understanding that until this is over with, talking about it could cause a breakdown.

Although she knew Francine was sick, when they enter the room, she really looks it for the first time. Joe leans down and kisses her cheek and then moves away, out of the room to let Iris see her. She doesn’t quite know what to say and so she asks if she can get her anything. She’s thinking like a water or an extra pillow, but Francine says “That brother of yours so we can all be together for the first time.”

“Yeah, he should be here.” Iris is actually surprised he’s not.

Francine notices this and waves her hand, voice all raspy and weak. “His mother’s leaving him. Can’t blame him for being angry about that. I just wish he’d get all that anger out while I’m here to help. Same thing goes for you, Iris. One thing you learn when you’re dying is not to hold anything back. You want to say something to me, you need to say it while you can.”

She can’t help the tears that well up in her eyes, no matter how much she hates them. She’s not ready to say goodbye, even though she learned long ago that she never needed a mother. She figured she’d have more time to figure out her feelings, more time to grow up and learn what she _wants_ from her, if anything. Her breath hitches and she moves to sit on the side of the bed, blinking quickly.

“I have so many great memories from when I grew up. Now, when I think about those memories, I can’t help but wonder what it would’ve been like if you and Wally had been there. I’m not angry at you anymore for what happened.” She reaches out, taking her mother’s hand so she knows this is sincere. “I just wish you would’ve come back to us a lot sooner, because I would’ve forgiven you then, like I’m forgiving you now.”

Francine clutches her hand tightly, tears filling her own eyes and Iris just has to get out of there. She lets out a sob, running into the hallway only to be stopped by her father, who just pulls her in, letting her cry. “I don’t know why this is so hard. I barely even know her.” She says, voice breaking. Joe just hugs her tighter.

\--

Barry steps out in the middle of the day and when he comes back, pulls her up to his lab. He seems almost frantic, his breathing heavy even though she knows he doesn’t get out of breath and his grip on her hand is so tight she’d think he was about to fade away to nothing. “Barry, what’s wrong?”

He pulls her close to him, sitting on the edge of his desk, one hand still holding hers and the other coming up to rub over his face. “There was a break-in at Mercury Labs. When I went there, I saw the Reverse-Flash.”

Patty’s face drops. “You told me this morning he doesn’t exist anymore.”

“Not anymore, no. But this is the Thawne that hasn’t killed my mother yet. This right now all happened before to the one that we erased from existence. This is the first time he came to his past to get information on me. He hasn’t even come up with the idea of killing my mother yet, he doesn’t even know my _name_.”

Patty sighs, placing her hands on his shoulders as his come up to rest on her waist, thumb stroking circles into the skin, more for him than for her. “What are you gonna do?”

“I don’t know. He took Dr. McGee so first, we gotta find her. Not to mention, Caitlin just told me that when Zoom stole Jay’s speed, it affected his cells and made him sick. Sick, like _dying_ sick. I have to find his Earth-1 doppelganger to see if we can replace his cells.” He starts to get up but she keeps him there.

“Hey.” She says, softly. “Are you okay?”

He sighs heavily, pulling her closer so he can rest his head against her stomach. She brings her arms around him tightly, hiding him in her arms like a shelter. They stay there for a moment in silence before he pulls away only slightly, to look up at her. “I thought I was done.” He says, so quietly that if she wasn’t right in front of him, she wouldn’t hear it. “I’ve spent my entire life fixating on my mother’s death. It’s the reason I became a CSI. Years from now, in the future, I’m gonna have to go back to that night and save my own life. When Thawne disappeared into pieces, I thought that’d be it. That I’d _finally_ , after all this time, be able to let go.”

She brings her hands up to cup his cheeks, the back of her fingers scratching the side of his head. “Babe, you’re never gonna be able to let go. She’s your mom and she was killed by someone you trusted. That’s always gonna be a part of you. You just have to decide which part. _You_ taught me that when I almost killed Mardon. The people that hurt us are always gonna be with us, but so are the people that love us, right? We just gotta let the love be more dominant.”

He nods his head up and down a few times, gazing up at her warmly. He’s pretty sure he loves her. If it were any other metavillain in town, he’d tell her right now. “I gotta do this thing for Cait. Which reminds me, don’t be upset if Iris cancels tonight. Her mom died today.”

Patty winces, frowning. “Oh my god. Why do so many bad things happen to you guys?” She’s grateful she can spark a laugh out of him with that comment and he kisses her once on the forehead before going over to his computer, ready to search for Jay’s Earth-1 doppelganger. When she heads downstairs, Joe’s just getting off the elevator and he holds up a file in his arms. “Hey, the Robinson case witness just showed up. Help me out?”

“‘Course.” she replies, placing a hand on his arm. “Barry told me about Iris’ mom. I’m sorry for your loss, Joe.”

“Thanks, partner. It was tough.” He looks genuinely grateful, sending her a small smile, though he doesn’t seem unbelievably devastated, but she’s assumed since Christmas that Iris’ mom hasn’t been in their lives for a long time.

“I bet.” She responds, following him into the interview room. They’re not in there for long until Joe brings her to Star Labs with him after he gets a text saying Dr. McGee is dead. When they arrive, Barry has already gone to an off-site Mercury Labs facility and Cisco has filled them in, quite enthusiastically, that his vibes are now of the future. Barry, only just in time, phases through the wall and knocks Thawne to the ground, saving Dr. McGee.

Patty can’t help the gasp that escapes her. “He can go through things?”

“It’s called phasing. His molecules vibrate so fast that he can pass through solid objects.” Harry informs her.

“Yeah, and he’s gotta do it more often. Why is he always takin’ the sidewalk?” Cisco chimes in, half-watching the monitor. Flash chases him through Central City, eventually cutting him off and needing Joe to tell him not to kill him. When he comes back and Thawne is staring up at the camera of the pipeline menacingly, Barry’s distraught, ready to say god knows what to Thawne.

“Ramifications. Any time anyone messes with the timeline, there _will_ be ramifications and it’s impossible to tell what they will be. It doesn’t matter if it won’t specifically change what happened to your mother.” Harry lectures, clearly flustering Barry.

Patty grabs his hand, clasping their fingers together, hoping to ground him even a little bit. “Hey. Let’s go on a walk.” He looks at her for a moment before nodding and the two of them walk out of the room, hand-in-hand. He’s in a change of clothes before she even realizes he flashed away and he squeezes her hand even tighter. She leads him downstairs to the front of Star Labs and sits him down on an outdoor bench, staying silent until he’s ready to speak. He doesn’t talk about Thawne like she expects him to.

“You know, when we went to that art event and I was gonna tell you that I was the Flash, I almost didn’t. Harry got in my head and said that Zoom would try and take you away from me, like he took Jesse, his daughter. I’m still scared of that, but being with you, _today_ , one of the hardest days I’ve had in a while, I know I made the right decision.”

She rests her chin on his shoulder and he smiles with his eyes. “Is that your way of thanking me for not dumping your ass when I had the chance?”

He laughs loudly, leaning his nose against hers. “That’s me saying that I’m glad you’re here. I don’t know how I would handle this if I’d given up on us.”

“Well, good thing you don’t have to find out.” He hums, kissing her twice before her phone starts buzzing in her back pocket. She pulls it out quickly, glancing down at it and then standing up, bringing him with her. “That’s Knowles. It’s probably an update on the Robinson case. I gotta go. Call me?”

He nods, pulling her in for a hug, letting himself bury his face in her shoulder for a bit. “Your place tonight?”

“Mmhmm.” She mumbles, kissing his cheek once before making her way to the car, pulling the phone up to her ear. Detective Knowles tells her that the missing daughter of Mrs. Robinson was found dead and wants her to go deliver the news. It gets her thinking of Iris. Losing a parent is never easy and even though Iris never knew her mother, that’s gotta be something that’s only adding to the pain.

Delivering tragic news is never easy and it’s difficult to hold yourself together and remain professional when you’re watching the victim’s family fall apart, but Patty pushes herself through it and then makes her way over to the West house, hoping to find Iris there. Sure enough, she’s working on an article and swings the door open with her laptop in hand, clearly surprised to see her there. Her face then falls and guilt crosses her features.

“Oh, Patty. I’m so sorry. I forgot to cancel on you and Caitlin.” She frowns.

“Oh, no. Don’t worry about it. I know what happened and I’m only here to let you know that you can talk to me, if you need to. I know what losing a parent is like and sometimes you gotta be alone and then sometimes you need someone. So, when you need someone, you can need me.”

Iris smiles softly, feeling a little touched that Patty drove all the way to her house to tell her that. “Thank you. I’ll definitely take you up on that.”

Patty nods, just as Wally turns up in his own car. “I should get going. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.” Iris whispers just as Wally hops up the steps, looking a little awkward.

“Bye. Good to see you again, Wally.” He nods at her once and she steps down, making her way to her car. When she arrives at her apartment, Barry’s already there, lying on her sofa. He smiles at her when she comes in, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.

“Hey, you.” He says, eyes on her as she hangs up her jacket and takes off her shoes. “You’ve been clocked in since nine this morning so you’ve technically worked eleven hours today.”

She giggles, setting her keys down on the table. “You’re the Flash, Barry. That means you’re the workaholic out of the two of us.” When that doesn’t get any sort of response, she walks over to him, sitting down on the couch as he moves to sit up. “What happened?”

He huffs, shaking his head, jaw tense. “We had to send Thawne back to his time. Capturing him ruptured the timeline and it was killing Cisco, so…”

She pouts, running a hand through her hair. “...and you’d do it again in a heartbeat but it still feels like you lost.”

He lets out a laugh now. “How do you do that?”

She grins. “What? Know exactly what you’re thinking?” She pauses. “We’re pretty similar, you and me. That’s probably what I’d be thinking if it were me.”

He hums, eyes darting across her face. He pauses before the corner of his mouth turns up. “I don’t wanna talk about Thawne.”

She bites her lip to keep back a smile. “What do you wanna talk about?”

He leans in, smirking, a finger coming up to brush a strand of her hair back. “I don’t wanna talk at all.” He can’t kiss her properly at first because of the smile on her face, but he doesn’t mind; just pulls her closer, letting her situate herself on his lap. When his hand moves up her side, she thinks about the letter from Midway University, sitting crumpled in the drawer she never goes in right under her TV, daring to be accepted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't worry you'll get some girl time and some SNOWEST next chapter :)
> 
> leave a comment if you liked it!


	3. officially in love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Snowest..... I think so. There's lil crumbs but dont worry this is a FLESHED OUT plan and i am so ready.
> 
> also patty and barry are so easy to write i love them way too much.

“Stay.” Barry mumbles, too fast for her even without using his speed. He pulls her back down into bed, burying his face in her hair and putting his half-asleep body on top of her, snuggling into her. “You’re not allowed to leave.”

She giggles under him, face smushed into the pillow and tries her best to kick him off of her, to no avail. “You said you liked that Iris and I are hanging out. You specifically said that it’d be good for Caitlin, too.”  
  


“Not if it interrupts my sleep.”

“You can sleep without me here.”

“But it’s better with you.” She doesn’t say anything, just lets his body rest fully, letting him think she’s staying and then flips them over so she’s leaning over him, hands on his chest. He frowns, grabbing her hips so she’ll stay in place and she peers down at him, a concerned look on her face.

“Are you having nightmares again?” His eyes snap open at that and he shakes his head seriously.

“No, no. It’s not that. Can’t a guy just wanna spend time with his girlfriend?”

She shakes her head, saying “Not when she has plans.” to which he responds with “Maybe, don’t have plans then.”

She laughs and doesn’t protest when he pulls her down for a long kiss, no doubt trying to convince her to cancel. “Okay, why don’t we go out tonight, just the two of us? Then, you can spend all the time with me that you want. Besides, I know you’re avoiding going back to Joe’s.” She kisses him in the middle of his scoff and hops off the bed, pulling on pants.

“Don’t call me out.” He whines.

“Hey, I’m not gonna lecture you, okay? But half of my hamper is now your clothes and I’m not saying I don’t love coming home to you every night, but you don’t actually live here.” He groans, pulling himself up so he’s sitting cross-legged on her bed, the covers only _just_ covering his bottom half.

He rubs his face with his right hand and sighs. “I’m just trying to give them some space.”

She snorts, doing up the last button on her shirt and then moving to tie her hair up in front of the long mirror on her wall. “No, you’re just scared that Wally isn’t gonna like you because you’re the son that actually got be raised by Joe and you’re not even biologically his kid, so you think Wally’s gonna resent that.”

He scoffs, a little shocked that she hit the nail on the head, though he really shouldn’t be surprised by now. “Will you stop that? Seriously, it’s like you’re telepathic. Get out of my head.”

She smiles, turning around from the mirror and picking up a shoe off the ground. “Look, baby… I’ve dealt with _hundreds_ of cases that involve separated families and no matter what the situation, Wally’s gonna have a tough time getting to know you all. But, if you don’t show up, he’s gonna think that you’re the one that resents him and that’ll end up being a problem if things go well with Joe and Iris because then he’ll be around for a long while. He’s family. Don’t wait too long, just meet him halfway.”

She’s still standing by the mirror, having just pulled her other shoe on and is reaching for her gun on the table when he grabs her hand, standing up and pulling her close to him, cupping her cheeks. She smiles as he rubs his thumbs over the skin there and her eyes twinkle as she notices the look he’s giving her, filled with adoration. “What?” She whispers.

He shakes his head, smiling and lets out a breath. “I love you.” He says, so certain. She grins, immediately connecting their lips and using the hands she’s placed on his back to pull him closer. She pulls away just a little, their lips just brushing and whispers, “I love you, too.” He kisses her again but it can’t last long due to the grin on his face.

“Was this a ploy to get me to stay?” She jokes, not moving from their position.

“No.” He smirks. “But did it work?”

She shakes her head, giggling and presses a kiss to his cheek, grabbing her gun and phone off the table. “No. You’ll be fine without me. Why don’t you go help Cisco with finding a way to close the breaches?”

“You’ll stop by later?” He asks as she makes her way to the door of her bedroom. She nods and he smiles back, winking at her as she leaves.

When she gets to Jitters, Iris and Caitlin are already there, squeezed around a table with drinks in their hands, one extra by the empty seat. She grins as she makes her way over, plopping herself down into the seat and grabbing hold of her latte. “Thank you, my friends. Sorry, I’m so late.”

“Don’t worry. We can infer as to why.” Iris giggles, tilting her head to the side as Patty’s cheeks heat up. Caitlin agrees, placing her cup down on the table and resting her cheeks in the palms of her hands.

“You are literally glowing, Patty. Don’t tell me you had _that_ good of a morning.” She says, raising an eyebrow.

Patty chuckles, trying to get rid of the blush on her cheeks and shakes her head. “Well, Barry told me he loves me this morning.” The other girls gasp and offer forms of congratulations, Iris herself surprised that he hadn’t said it already. “Well, we moved so fast… I mean, I wasn’t expecting anything of that sort for a while but I guess when you feel it, it’s true. But, I’m not the only one with romance on the table. Caitlin, Barry told me that you and Jay are kind of…”

“We’re kind of.” Caitlin nods, laughing. “My husband died last year so I’m not in any position to move fast but I like Jay. He’s sweet and considerate and he cares about the whole team, which I really like about him.”

“That’s nice. I’m glad.” Patty responds, turning her attention to Iris.

Iris shakes her head. “I’m still super in love with Eddie, so there will be no romance on the table until I figure out how to move on in a healthy way. But, even if I had done that, between Zoom and Wally, I think I’ve got my hands full.”

Patty frowns. “Yeah, how is that going? I talked to Barry about it this morning, he says he’s trying to give you guys space to get to know him.”

Iris huffs, rolling her eyes fondly. “Well, my dad told Wally that he could act like we’re his friends if it made it easier, but Wally is still street-racing, which is really dangerous and he doesn’t have anyone to look out for him there. He said he was doing it to pay the medical bills but now that Francine is gone…”

“Maybe it’s about security?” Patty suggests, to which Iris frowns, asking what she means.

Caitlin responds for her in the tone she uses when talking to patients, which is seeming to come across every time she tries to explain something. “Well, he just lost his mother and got introduced to a family he didn’t even know he had. Despite how dangerous street-racing may be, it could be the only sense of normalcy he can get now. Like, an escape.”

“Yeah, that’s probably it, actually. I’m just worried about him. After everything we deal with on the daily, I think my protective instincts are always on high alert.” Iris says, a sad look on her face.

“Unfortunately, given our circumstances, that’s pretty normal. We’re all lucky we’re not more screwed up than we are.” Caitlin says, shrugging her shoulders as if to convey _it is what it is_.

Patty squints, shifting in her seat comfortably. “Wow, you guys are making me feel so great about joining the team.”

Iris reaches over the table, grabbing her hand for a second and then putting it back around her cup. “Hey, it’s not so bad when we’re all together. Besides, would you rather be on the team or have no idea when Barry’s fighting a big bad?”

Patty frowns. “Damnit, you’re right. Now that we officially love each other, this is gonna suck.” Caitlin giggles loudly and Iris can’t help but stare at her. She knows that Caitlin isn’t necessarily a _sad_ person but it’s so rare to see her truly carefree. She knows she gets that with Cisco and Barry said things used to be a lot better for her before Ronnie died for the second time, but Iris would do just about anything to keep her smiling. She deserves that much.

“I think you’ll be okay, Patty. We’ve got over a year of experience with Barry fighting dangerous metas and he has a bunch of geniuses looking out for him.” The doctor responds, sipping her drink and turning around briefly as the bell rings by the door, though it’s no one of importance that walks through it.

“Well, speaking of geniuses… how much do you guys know about Harry?” She starts hesitantly. She doesn’t want the team to think she’s snooping around or untrusting of it's members when she’s just joined, but Harry’s situation is sending alarms through her head.

Iris frowns. “Well, we haven’t known him long, but he’s seemed to have proven himself. He’s smart and he’s not here to kill us, he just wants his daughter back.”

Patty nods, cracking her knuckles. “That’s exactly what’s so scary. No matter what his intentions are, even if he’s the best person you know, Zoom has leverage over him. I don’t doubt he’d do anything for his daughter, even if it meant doing something morally unjust. I’m sure my dad would’ve done the same.”

Caitlin takes a breath, connecting the dots. “Wait a minute. Do you think he killed Turtle?”

Patty shakes her head. “It’s just a hunch, honestly. I don’t have any evidence and I don’t want to jump to any conclusions. I’m just saying, Zoom could theoretically ask him to do anything and he’d have to do it. I’ve dealt with a lot of cases where people have been blackmailed to save the people they love and they almost always do it.”

Iris runs a hand through her hair, seeming to be genuinely thinking it over. “But why would Zoom want Turtle dead?”

  
  


“I don’t know. Like I said; no evidence, no case. Barry told me about Harry’s daughter and something just clicked. I can’t imagine what he must be going through.” Patty clarifies. She doesn’t think Harry’s a bad person, maybe just a desperate one.

“Yeah, I don’t think we’ve been half as sensitive to that as we should be. He must be going nuts the second any one of us takes a break.” Caitlin hums sadly, Iris agreeing.

“I think we should just keep an eye out. But, let’s not tell the rest of the team. Harry deserves the chance to prove himself.” She says, resting her head on her hand.

They’re there for an hour before Patty’s phone buzzes in her pocket, a text from Joe lighting up her screen. “That’s your dad, Iris. We just caught a crime scene. I gotta go.”

Both girls smile at her in understanding, Caitlin jumping in with, “This was fun. I’m glad we got to do this.”

“Me too. This is going to be a regular thing and neither of you have any say.” Iris threatens, making the girls giggle.

When Patty arrives at the crime scene, she greets Joe and heads straight towards the victim. “How come Barry’s not here yet?”

Joe laughs like it’s some prank he’s pulling. “I always wait a while to text him. That man has no self control. He’ll show up here instantly and then play it off like he was around the corner when people ask him how he got here so fast.”

Patty laughs at that, knowing that is in fact something her boyfriend would do and listens to Knowles explaining what he’s found so far, as he was the one who responded to the call. When Barry does show up, Joe explains for himself.

“Vic’s name is Daniel Burge. Not exactly a boy scout but managed to buy this garage two years ago.” Joe says, watching Barry kneel down next to the body, uncovering it slightly. “It looks like he was dipped in a volcano.”

“Oh, yeah. Something like lava only with a lower burn temp and a chemical characteristic.” Barry replies.

“The fire investigator didn’t find a secondary accelerant.”

“He wouldn’t with a meta. I’m gonna bring a sample to Star Labs, see if Cisco can run some tests.” Barry stands, rubbing his fingers together.

Joe sighs. “Alright, well… I gotta go meet Iris for lunch. She wants to talk to me about Wally.” The face he makes tells Barry he’s not looking forward to that conversation and Joe tilts his head, calling Patty over from where she was standing slightly behind, still talking to Knowles. “Hey, partner!”

Patty bids her goodbyes and strides over, coming to stand next to Barry, though still maintaining a professional distance. “Hey.”

“You saw Iris this morning, right? She mention anything about Wally?” Joe asks, looking slightly frazzled.

Patty’s eyes widen and she nods her head vigorously. “Oh, yeah. Definitely did. She’s a _little_ bit worried that he’s going to get himself killed street-racing and thinks that you should jump straight into the father-thing instead of holding back. Caitlin and I told her that he’s probably just looking for a sense of normalcy, but it’s definitely still on her mind.”

Joe doesn’t look too pleased but he lights up slightly when Barry asks how things are going with Wally outside of that. “Great! Well, good. I don’t know, baby steps. I’m trying to give him space. He just lost Francine, just met me and his sister. He’s got a lot on his plate.”

  
“Yeah, he’s got the best dad he could’ve wished for.” Barry grins, truth shining through the complement. It makes Patty’s heart warm and a small part of her longs for her own father, though she pushes it away quickly and focuses on just being happy that despite all Barry’s lost, he found a father in Joe.

Joe points at him playfully. “Oh, you say that now but you didn’t always think that.”

Barry laughs and it sparks one out of Patty, who looks up at him, eyes gleaming. She still doesn’t move closer, hoping that she won’t get called into Singh’s office with a lecture about workplace romances, though he already knows of their relationship and doesn’t mind too much, as long as he doesn’t see it. “You were pretty strict, that’s for sure. But that’s not always a bad thing, especially when you know it’s coming from love.”

Joe hums, happy with that answer and turns to Patty before he leaves. “Hey, the Robinson trial got moved up to two weeks from now. Do you wanna take the stand or should I?”

“No, I got it. You should be focusing on Wally.” Joe grins at that, patting her on the shoulder.

“Thanks, partner.”

Patty smiles as she watches him go, walking back over to the body with Barry. “Joe’s a good dad.” She mumbles absentmindedly.

“Speaking of good dads,” Barry starts. “I was talking to mine on the phone this morning and I know things are totally crazy right now but when things die down, do you wanna come see him with me? For a day or so?”

“Of course. Iris told me a little about him this morning. I’d love to meet him.” She smiles softly, her nose scrunching slightly in the way that always makes Barry swoon.

“Uh oh. What else did she tell you?” Barry half-jokes, only slightly worried that Iris will accidentally spill all his embarrassing childhood secrets. 

Patty chuckles, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Just that she’s surprised you took so long to tell me you love me.” The redness that springs to his cheeks makes her laugh a little too loud. “How long have you loved me for, Allen?”

She’s not even the slightest bit serious, considering she’s probably loved him for much longer. Barry shakes his head, trying to wipe the smile off his face. “You can’t talk to me about this at work. Professionalism, remember? Get out of here.”

“If you say so.” She teases, glancing back at him once more before _actually_ doing some police work. Spending half her day eager to talk to her CSI boyfriend is gonna get her fired if she’s not careful. She gets a text from Cisco when she’s back at the precinct about an app he’s created and she downloads it right away, genuinely impressed by that man’s mind. When the next meta, (one who she can see clearly relates to the victim of that morning), attacks a man downtown, she watches Barry literally _melt_ him into the ground and decides that her day’s slow as hell anyway, and drives over to Big Belly, picking up the orders she texted Barry for and strolling into Star Labs.

Cisco looks at her like she just made his day and makes grabby hands at the bags, sighing in pleasure. “Oh, you are already making yourself a valued member of this team.”

Patty grins and Caitlin uses her foot to drag another spinny chair over towards them for Patty to sit on. Cisco, as he’s shoving some fries in his mouth, frowns at the screen in front of him. He takes a second before mumbling, “Barry’s going slower than usual. Not by much, but still.”  
  
Patty feels Caitlin’s eyes on her and she meets her gaze, the both of them presumably thinking the same thing. Cisco notices, pointing his fingers back and forth between the two. “Woah, woah, woah. What is this? This communicating without speaking thing? I don’t like it.”

Barry walks into the room just then, in his clothes from earlier, declaring that their vic won’t talk. He smiles when he sees her, placing a hand on her shoulder and stealing a fry. She smiles up at him, rolling her chair over towards the standing monitor as Cisco switches computers, pulling up the information they need. “Alright, so Tar- Tar Pit? Is that what we’re calling him?”

Cisco nods. “That’s right.”  
  


“Tar Pit,” Barry continues. “Was after one Clay Stanley. Stanley, as it turns out is a suspected hitman that the CCPD has been trying to track for a while but they haven’t been able to make anything stick.”

Cisco snorts at that, Patty jumping in. “God, Miller’s been complaining about this guy since the day Singh hired me. He’s a pain in my ass about it.”

Caitlin smiles, tilting her head towards Barry. “Do we know why he was attacked?”

Barry shakes his head. “Stanley’s pretty scared.”

“When a hitman is scared, you know something’s wrong.” Cisco adds, spinning around in his chair once Barry asks if he got an ID on Tar Pit. “I’m running it through five different facial-recognition systems right now, so it should take a minute.”

The screen lights up with _Match Found_ and they all turn back to it, Cisco clearly satisfied with himself. “And there it is. Who’s the best hacker in the world people?”

“Felicity Smoak.” Barry and Caitlin answer at the same time.

“What is wrong with you two? That’s not friendship.” Cisco deadpans and Patty frowns, confused.

“Who’s Felicity Smoak?”

“She works with the Green Arrow. She’s who I was visiting around Christmas when you shot Harry.” Barry answers, taking another one of her fries.

Patty groans, throwing her head back over the chair. “Okay, can we please stop referring to that time of our lives as _the time when I shot Harry_?”

Barry laughs, squeezing her shoulder. “You’ll meet them soon enough. Actually, I think her and Oliver’s engagement party is coming up. You should come. They’ll want to know you.”

The comment makes her smile, and it only grows wider when she realizes that there’s an Oliver engaged to a Felicity in Star City, and that Oliver is Oliver freaking Queen. “Wait, Oliver Queen?” Barry nods. “Oh my god. My college roommate used to literally print out paparazzi photos of that guy and paste them on our walls.” 

“He _is_ a good looking man.” Cisco adds, nodding in solidarity.

“Anyways, our metahuman’s name is Joseph Monteleone.” Caitlin says, getting them back on track.

Cisco frowns at the menacing picture of him on the screen. “Oh, he looks friendly.”

“Monteleone was reported missing… surprise, surprise; the night of the particle accelerator explosion.” Barry scoffs.

“What’s the connection between him and the two victims?” Caitlin asks.

Patty takes her phone out. “I’ll text Joe, have him run some background checks.”

“I’ll run some tests on the tar sample, see if I can find his weakness.” Caitlin moves to make her way to her lab and Patty nods, declaring that she’s going to help her, which gets a confused look out of Barry. It makes sense though, since she doesn’t know the first thing about biochemics.

“Alright, I’m gonna go give Harry his food.” He reaches over and grabs the bag containing his and Harry’s big belly and turns back to Patty, still sitting in the chair. “You gonna stick around?”

She nods, accepting the brief kiss he leans down for. “Singh doesn’t want me doing too many big cases considering I just got kidnapped so work’s slow anyways.”

Barry hums, kissing her one last time before he’s out of the Cortex, Cisco staying put before he perks up, clearly remembering something and chases after him. Patty’s grateful for the alone time with Caitlin and shuts the door behind her when she steps into her lab. “Were you thinking the same thing I was back there?”  
  


Caitlin looks up from where she’s leaning over her station. “You mean about Barry running slower? The Turtle’s the only person who was able to do that and now he’s dead. It doesn’t feel like much of a coincidence and that would explain how Zoom would use Harry to kill him. He wants to be the fastest man alive.”

“Exactly.” Patty nods. “I’m gonna tell Barry our theory today. We’re lucky he’s not exceptionally slower.”

“I don’t wanna believe it's Harry but all signs are pointing in that direction.” Caitlin sighs. Patty can’t exactly say this, but the only other person it could be is Jay. Though, Jay’s motive is unclear whereas if it’s Harry, at least he’s not some evil mastermind; he’s just a guy trying to save his daughter. 

She spends a while just watching Caitlin work, which she’s finding is surprisingly soothing, until Barry reenters the Cortex, plopping himself down onto a chair with a loud sigh. She exits the lab, Caitlin following close behind and makes her way over to him, matching the smile he puts on when he sees her. “Hey, can we talk for a sec?” She starts and almost backs out at the way he frowns.

“Of course.” He sits up, grabbing her hand. “What’s up?”

She’s about to ask him to leave the room with her when Joe strides in and she squeezes his hand, letting him know they’ll talk later. She feels his gaze linger on her a little too long, but he looks away eventually as Joe’s saying he can’t access the sealed records of the victims.

“That’s because you’re bound by ethics, Detective West.” Cisco says, typing away. Patty laughs, shaking her head as Joe asks how many felonies they’re committing by accessing those records. “Three or four. No, Five.”

“Looks like they were sealed because they’re all juvenile defenses.” Patty says, staring at the screen, still standing close to Barry. “They weren’t arrested together.”

“No, but look at this.” Cisco starts. “They served in the same juvenile detention facility. Monteleone and Victim One were bunkmates.”

“Who do we have shacked up with Victim Two?” Barry asks, nodding his head towards the screen just as it changes. 

“Bronwen, comma, Clark. But good luck finding him. He has a ton of addresses and nothing current.” Just as Cisco claims he’ll run facial rec, Iris rolls in.

“That won’t be necessary. In this case, I am facial recognition. I know exactly where we can find that guy. And Dad, you are not gonna like how.” She says, earning an exasperated look from Joe, who just says she can tell him on the way.

“What is that?” He asks, as Harry walks out of the lab with a glowing blue device in hand.

His facial expression doesn’t change at all as he responds, “Breach Implosion Reactor.”

Joe scoffs. “Sorry I asked.”

Barry stands up, grabbing Patty’s hand and her attention. “You wanted to talk?” Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Caitlin's eyes widen and her head shakes the tiniest bit, unnoticeable to anyone else.

Patty shakes her head. “It’s not important. I’ll tell you later.”

Barry frowns. “You sure?” She nods, kissing his cheek and letting him walk out with Harry. As soon as they’re out of earshot, she raises her eyebrows at Caitlin.

“That was not the time to tell him.” She says, causing Patty to lift her arms in confusion.

“He’s about to go do science experiments with Harry, _alone_. How is that not the right time?”

Caitlin huffs, standing up. “Because we need the breaches closed and we can’t be sparking fights within the team before we do it.”

Patty nods, Caitlin’s reasoning making sense, though she doesn’t like thinking about Barry being in that situation without knowing vital information. Cisco groans, annoyed. “Oh my god. What are we not telling him?”

Caitlin smiles warily, leaning against the desk. “Iris, Patty and I think that Harry is the one who killed Turtle and is somehow using something from Turtle that’s slowing Barry down.”

Cisco’s silent for a second before nodding. “Yeah, okay. That makes sense. But why Harry? I mean, why would he double-team?”

“Because Zoom’s literally holding his daughter hostage and probably torturing her. Zoom could pretty much tell Harry to kill every single one of us and he’d have to do it.” Patty explains, leaning across the desk beside Caitlin.

Cisco nods again, taking it in. “Right. Damn, I’m pissed as hell but it also makes a little too much sense. Maybe we should’ve seen this coming. We do need to tell Barry when he gets back, though.”

All three agree and sit around the Cortex, waiting for Cisco’s phone to ping with a meta attack or Patty’s to buzz with a work call. It’s not long after until their monitor lights up and Barry’s suit readings appear on it, Iris having called him to save Wally’s life. Which he does successfully, although Iris gets hit by some shrapnel from the car, Barry only seconds too slow to save her. 

“Oh my god.” Cisco mumbles, as he hears Joe yell for Barry to get her to the hospital.

When Barry shows up less than twenty minutes later, just as Patty was about to leave for the hospital, he pulls her straight into a hug. “Is she okay?” She mumbles into his shoulder almost immediately.

“Yeah.” He sighs, pulling her closer. “She’ll be fine.”

She stays in his embrace for a minute longer before pulling away, leading him back to the Cortex. “Cisco has a way to get Tar Pit.”

When they walk in, Barry tells them Iris will be okay and then Cisco, who’s yelling at Harry for throwing a nitrous grenade at him, explains how they work and how they’ll be able to use them to catch Tar Pit. Barry lets go of her hand and walks up to Cisco, keeping his tone low. “Look, you were right, I think. I did feel slower tonight. Not by much, but enough.” 

Both Caitlin and Patty glance at Harry, who keeps his eyes trained down on the device, tinkering with it. Cisco sends Patty a look, as if asking her how he should tell him but Patty gets a gut feeling, one that she always, _always_ trusts. Harry’s not a bad guy, but outing what he’s doing to the team could risk his daughter’s life and potentially make him lose all the resources he has to find her. He has helped the team, he helped Barry, he figured out how to close the breaches. He just needs to come clean for himself, to prove he’s not a bad person.

  
  


Patty shakes her head at Cisco, mouthing _trust me_ and then moves her hands in upward motions, making sure Harry’s not looking before mouthing _play it up_.

“Do you think there’s something up with the suit?” Barry asks and Cisco, after looking to Patty for confirmation, acts as if there’s no way. “Well, am I sick?”

Caitlin seems to understand what Patty wants and responds to Barry immediately. “I haven’t seen any signs and your vitals were perfect.”

“Well, we need to figure it out. You being slower might put people’s lives in danger,” She turns to Harry as she says the next part. “It could be anyone’s daughter next time, not just Joe’s.”

Caitlin leaves her seat, bringing the tablet up to Barry and nodding along. “You’re slower by two percent. You’ve been at a hundred for the last sixty days but now there’s an abrupt drop.”

Cisco, finally understanding the plan, looks at Harry. “Well, Zoom stole Jay’s speed. Maybe he did something similar to you when you fought him. But then again, that was weeks ago.”

Patty pops her head over the desk and trains her eyes on Harry. “Doctor Wells, you’ve studied the speed force, right? What do you think could have happened?”

“It could’ve been a number of things, Spivot.” Patty frowns, but before she has time to tell Barry the truth, he starts talking.

“Look, Iris could’ve died tonight. Yeah, she’s gonna be okay, _this time_ , but when Zoom comes back, I need all of my speed and then some. If I’m not fast enough, he’ll kill all of you and I just- I can’t lose anyone else.” 

Harry slams the device on the table and Caitlin exchanges a glance with her. “You’re not gonna lose anyone else, Allen. I did it.” He walks up to the suit and takes out a device hidden under the Flash emblem.

“What is that?” Cisco asks, catching it when it’s tossed to him.

Harry raises his arms above his head slowly, seemingly accepting his fate. “I stole your speed. I gave it to Zoom.”

Barry stutters. “I don’t understand. You’re what? Working with Zoom?”

No one noticed Joe enter the Cortex from behind them, but he strides right up to Harry and socks him in the phase, dragging him to the pipeline, though he doesn’t even fight back against him. Patty actually feels sorry for the guy, though she’s glad her theory of him just being desperate and not evil is the right one.

After Barry and Joe come back from capturing Tar Pit, she waits in the hallway for him. Joe goes straight ahead into the Cortex and Barry stops in front of her, leaning against the wall. “So that thing I wanted to tell you…” She starts. “Cisco, Caitlin, Iris and I all knew there was something up with Wells. We didn’t have anything concrete and we didn’t suspect he was stealing your speed until just before you left, but even then, we had no proof.”

The look on Barry’s face makes her feel so so guilty and for the first time, she realizes that after the debacle with the other Wells she wasn’t around for, he might have some deep-rooted trust issues they need to address. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me that?”

“Well, at first it was because Caitlin knew if we brought it up, we’d never get the chance to see if the Implosion Reactor worked which is one of our best options when it comes to stopping Zoom and second, I had no idea what was going to happen tonight or that you’d react like this.”

“What? What do you mean, _react like this_?” He says, getting agitated. “What am I reacting like?”

Patty lets out a breath, not understanding why it’s so hard for him to think about this like a CSI. “You’re acting like he’s Zoom’s sidekick. He’s not. I mean, I honestly thought you’d see this for what it is.”

Barry frowns, stepping away from her. “ _What it is_ , is a betrayal. I don’t understand why _you_ can’t see that.”

“Babe, he _told_ you it was him and he probably damned his daughter in doing so. Zoom’s held her captive for _months_ and you told me yourself that he’s exhausted every option in trying to find her and he’s had no luck. Zoom gave him an ultimatum and he chose to protect his family. Do you honestly think he made the wrong choice?”

“He could’ve come to us, Patty. He could have told us and we could’ve found a way to fake it or something. We could’ve figured it out.”

“No, he couldn’t have, Barry! Zoom could kill her two seconds, not even. Do you seriously think he could trust us with his daughter’s life as much as we could trust him with ours?” She pauses, Barry remaining silent, nodding as if he finally gets what she’s saying after a moment. “Zoom’s an evil son of a bitch. Harry’s just a father.”

She exits the hallway then, walking into the Cortex and sitting down next to Cait, sighing heavily. Barry enters the room only to signal for Joe to come with him and moments later, Cisco announces that they went to talk to Wells. “How did he take it?” Cisco asks.

“Not well.”

Caitlin sighs. “Iris got hurt because of it. I’m sure there’s a part of him that thinks if we’d told him, he could’ve protected her. I’m still sure it would’ve been a hell of a lot worse if we did, though. At least now we can close the breaches.”

“Yeah, nice work back there with getting him to confess on his own, Patty.” Cisco adds, half zoned out and staring at the wall.

“I’m pretty good at reading people. He’s just scared. Feels like his hands are tied behind his back. In a way, they are, I guess.” She answers, sitting upright when Barry and Joe come back.

Caitlin flicks an image onto the monitors and announces that she ran some tests. “This is a sample of Barry’s cells after whatever Harry did to them. As you can see, not only is it drained of the Speed Force but it’s also presenting itself as chromosomal damage. If Harry kept doing what he was doing, he could’ve taken your powers permanently.”

“Even evil Wells couldn’t figure out how to do that one.” Cisco mumbles.

“Look, somebody better send his ass back to Earth-2 or I’m gonna shoot him.” Joe chimes in, seriously.

“No.” Barry says from his spot, staring at his suit display. He turns around slowly, as Joe asks what he means. “What would we have done if we were in his position? I mean, what would you do if it was Iris, Joe? Cisco, when Snart kidnapped you, threatened to kill your brother unless you helped, you did. And none of us judged you for that. We still don’t. Because when it comes to family, when it comes to the people that we all love, we’re all vulnerable. None of us are above making a wrong decision.”

He pauses, before continuing. “He could’ve done it. He could’ve stolen my speed, gotten away with it, none of us would’ve ever known. But he didn’t. And now his daughter’s gonna die and we’re just okay with that? I can’t just give up on her and I can’t just give up on a _world_. One full of people who are facing death. I may not be fast enough to beat Zoom yet, but I can’t just close the breaches and forget about it.” He glances at Patty, sending her a knowing smile. “Zoom’s an evil son of a bitch. Harry’s just a father. We have to help him.”

She sends him a soft smile back and he steps forward. “Look, I was the one who let him stay here. I was the one who trusted him first when literally all of you told me not to, so this has to be a group decision.”

“I’m with you.” Patty says softly, sending him a wink which he returns.

“Me too.” Caitlin agrees, then Cisco and eventually, Joe. “So what do you want to do?”

“We’re gonna go to Earth-2.”

Joe raises his eyebrows, immediately a little worried. “Are you sure, Bear? That’s a whole other universe we’re talking about. We don’t even know the risks.”

“I’m sure. I’m done wasting time. I mean, the reason Wells turned on us in the first place is because Zoom’s been holding his daughter over his head for _months_ now. We have to get her back and the only way to do that is by going to Earth-2.”

“Okay.” Joe nods. “Let’s do it.”

As they’re all walking out, Barry grabs her hand, squeezing it tightly as if to convey an apology in it. She just squeezes back. They tell Wells that they’re leaving for Earth-2 first thing in the morning and once the rest of the team is walking out of the pipeline, Barry pulls her back. “We’re good, right?”

“Yeah, always.” She brings her arms up to lock them around his neck and he rubs his hands up her back.

“I don’t understand how you’re so level-headed all the time. I’ve only seen you act on emotion once and that was when you were faced with your father’s killer. I mean, even when we were fighting, you were… _logical_ and _understanding_.”

She smiles, humming. “Hey, that’s not always a good thing. It’s why all of my relationships haven’t worked out.”

He lets out a breathy laugh. “How so?”

“I always ran at the first sign of trouble. Mapped out all of the reasons it wouldn’t work in my head and then ended it before I got my heart broken.”

“Uh oh. Do I have to be scared you’re gonna walk out on me?” She shakes her head, responding with, “You’re different.” He tilts his head to the side in confusion, still holding her close. “You already have my heart, Barry Allen. Running would do me no good. Besides, if I did, I’m sure you could catch up to me pretty quick.”

He grins at that, nodding and pulling her in for a long kiss. “Ready?” He whispers, nudging their noses together. 

“Actually, I gotta do something first. Meet you at my place?” He nods again, kissing her one last time before speeding out of Star Labs. She walks towards Caitlin’s lab, leaning against the doorframe and knocking, smiling when Caitlin’s head jolts up.

“Hey, I was just about to go see Iris. Do you wanna come with me?”

She contemplates for a second before nodding. “Yeah, I should.”

When they arrive, she’s awake, Wally sitting next to her, the two of them talking softly. She lights up when she sees them, asking Wally to go get her some water. Patty leans down to hug her and Caitlin sits on the other side of the bed, grasping her hand. “So glad you’re okay.” Patty mumbles, sitting down on the other side. 

“Yeah, I’ll be up and moving tomorrow. Nothin’ to it.” Iris laughs. “So, fill me in. What did I miss?”

Caitlin gives her a small smile. “We were right about Turtle. Harry killed him to use his molecules to steal some of Barry’s speed. That’s why he wasn’t fast enough to save you tonight.”

“No saving needed to be done. I’m fine. What happened with Harry?”

“Well, everyone pretty much freaked out. Your dad punched him, put him in the pipeline. Barry and I got in a fight over whether or not Harry’s evil and eventually, everyone agreed that he did what he had to do to save his daughter.” Patty answers. 

Caitlin nods along, still holding Iris’ hand, a small smile playing on Iris’ lips at it. She doesn’t want to let go. “The thing is, Harry confessed to it and pretty much endangered his daughter in doing so, which means we’re pretty sure he’s got a good heart in the end. We’d do it for each other, wouldn’t we?”

“Hell yeah. I’d steal Barry’s speed to save you guys. Every time.” Iris jokes, sparking a laugh out of both of them. Patty’s phone buzzes in her pocket and she leaves her room to answer, telling them it’s her captain.

“Thanks for coming.” Iris sighs, when she’s gone.

“Of course. I’m so glad you’re okay. We’d fall apart without you.” Caitlin smiles. “Hey, how did you know about Clark Bronwen? Were you checking up on Wally at his street racing gig?”

Iris hesitates before huffing. “I only threatened him a little bit.”

Caitlin laughs. “Oh god.”

“Don’t worry. Both Dad and Wally have given me words about that.”

Caitlin shakes her head. “You always go after what you want. Never listen to people telling you _no_. I like that about you, even if it can be dangerous sometimes.”

Iris smiles a real smile and nods, running a finger over their interlocked hands. “Thanks, Cait. I’m glad I know you.”

She thinks she sees Caitlin’s cheeks turn red for a millisecond, but chooses to ignore it and instead asks her about Jay and how that’s going, though the more she talks about it, the more she regrets it, and opts to just look at the brown of her eyes and how they look under the bright white lights. If Caitlin notices, she doesn’t say anything, just gets more comfortable, as if she’ll be there for a while.

She is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter... we're going to Earth-2!! which in my version has totally changed !! 
> 
> v excited tho :)
> 
> ok leave a comment if you enjoyed it !!


	4. just a feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the team go to earth-two, then a club, and then patty and cisco work together to find out zoom's secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey y'all. sorry it's been a while. i literally go through phases where all i think about is westallen and then another phase where all i think about is spivallen. oops.
> 
> today we cover episodes 13-16.
> 
> anyways, hope y'all enjoy. :)

When she wakes the next morning, Barry’s eyes are wide open, staring at her wistfully as he lays on his side. She gives him a small smile and he reaches a hand up to brush through her hair, whispering a little, “Hi.” She lets her eyes slip shut again for a second, breathing in deeply and just focusing on the feeling of his hand on her head until he speaks again. “Big day.”

“Yeah.” She whispers, letting him sink a kiss into the skin just under her eye before he rests his forehead against hers, the both of them falling silent again.

When they’re ready, he runs her to Star Labs and then goes to get everyone else as she, Cait, Cisco, and Harry (who were already there) wait by the breach. When he arrives with Joe and Jay’s shown up, Harry slings a bag over his shoulder and they all prepare to say their goodbyes. “All right, Barry. Listen to me.” Jay starts, stepping down to the lower platform. “You’re about to go through the looking glass. You’re gonna see things that look and feel familiar, but they’re not. Up is down, black is white. Do not let yourself get sucked in emotionally. And good luck.”

Barry nods gratefully, sighing and looking between Jay and Caitlin. “Look, if we’re not back in forty-eight hours, that means Zoom has us.If that happens, you have to close the breach.”

“We’re not doing that.” Caitlin says immediately, leaving no room for argument as she makes her way over to Cisco to say their goodbyes.

Joe pulls Barry in, squeezing him tight. “You get yourself back here in one piece, alright? Don’t make me come and get you.”

Barry smiles at the comment, pulling away and moving to Patty, who’s standing a little behind Joe with her arms crossed. He cups her cheeks, staring at her warmly and she melts, her arms falling to her sides and her head tilting a little. “I’ll see you soon.” She says, but she doesn’t look like she believes it.

He just smiles, says “I love you.” so certainly, so confidently, and kisses her hard twice, pouring promises into it that he knows he can’t keep. He strokes his thumbs over her cheeks one last time and then moves to Caitlin who hugs him tight, a worried expression on her face as she tells him to be careful. 

Joe shakes Harry’s hand firmly, both of them having come to a mutual understanding, most likely to do with the fact that they’re both fathers. “I hope you get your daughter back.”

“I’ll make sure you get your son back.” Harry promises as Barry’s face breaks into a smile.

They watch Barry, Cisco and Harry go through the breach and all seems okay until it starts sparking out of control, a piece of the stabilizer coming off and almost hitting Caitlin, though Jay pushes her out of the way just in time. Jay tells them that until they find a way to stabilize the breach again, Barry and Cisco will be stuck there, so that’s moved up to number one on their list of priorities. 

Joe and Patty can’t exactly skip work, so they’re at the precinct all day until there’s a big meta-attack, by a guy Jay calls ‘Geomancer’. Without Flash, the city is defenseless and there’s not much they can do against him. They bring out a squad to chase him down and just when they’re sure they’ll fail, Jay swoops in, having injected himself with V7 and saves the day in Barry’s place. That is, until his V7 wears off a little too fast and Joe and Patty take turns shooting Geomancer’s armor until he’s gone.

It does get Patty thinking about Velocity, though. Just a little bit.

Because of the tremors Geomancer’s caused, more than half the city’s terrified and Patty spends the next day helping out with the hospitals and helping return separated kids to their families. Geomancer goes as far as to collapse an entire building, though luckily Jay got everyone out beforehand. When she returns to Star Labs to check on Caitlin, Iris is already there, having asked Jay if she could write a story about him. Patty listens to her explain her shitty new editor and it takes her mind off missing Barry and worrying about him too much, so she and Iris stick around while Caitlin analyzes Jay’s DNA, now altered because of the Velocity.

Just as she announces that she might have found a way to save Jay’s life, Geomancer shows up, threatening to make the Earth swallow them. Patty quickly pulls out her gun, shoots his armor once and then tells the girls to run, all of them making their way into Cisco’s lab, though they struggle due to the vibrations. With another big shake, Patty drops her gun, not seeing where it went as the ceiling falls, separating the girls. Geomancer arrives in the workshop, ready to punch the ground again but then Caitlin, who’d grab a prototype gun, shoots him in the chest and he falls to the ground, seizing as if he’s been tased.

She and Iris follow Joe outside, who’s had someone from the station come and pick up Geomancer and as he’s placing him in the back of the car, Patty grabs Iris’ arm. “Hey, how much do you know about Jay?”

Iris looks confused at the question, though her eyes soon widen in realization. “You have another feeling.”

Patty sighs, nodding. “He had more than enough time to come upstairs, grab some Velocity and take down Geomancer. But he didn’t. Which makes me think that he either chose not to, or he wasn’t in the building like he said he’d be. That, among other things I’ve picked up off him… I don’t think he’s a totally truthful guy. That doesn’t mean he’s a villain, but…”

“You think he might not be completely on our side?” Joe finishes, having made his way over as he now stands beside the girls, arms crossed.

“It’s just a hunch.” Patty says, not wanting them to get too skeptical. She could be wrong.

Iris huffs, squeezing her arm. “Yeah, but the last hunch you had was right.”

The ground beneath them shakes again, and since Geomancer’s just been driven off, they assume it’s coming from inside Star Labs. They head down to the breach room to see that the breach has grown even more unstable, appearing in and out of existence. Jay creates a vortex around the breach while Patty and Joe flip the switches on the rings one by one, all three of them being thrown backwards once it’s done, though the breach finally stabilizes.

Cisco and Harry’s daughter are through first, Barry telling Jay to get ready to close the breach as he goes back for Harry, returning after longer than they’d expected. Jay throws the Breach Implosion Reactor into the breach and it closes, everyone in the room letting out a collective sigh. Joe pulls Barry into a tight hug, and her boyfriend sends her a smile over his shoulder and she returns it, though only briefly once she starts to notice Jay backing up towards the closing breach. She frowns, staring at him but not saying anything. There’s no reason for him to be up there. 

Zoom, at the last second, reaches his vibrating hand through and sticks it into Jay’s chest, Caitlin letting out a scream as everyone gasps in horror, the breach closing and taking Jay with it. Barry steps toward Caitlin, who just keeps repeating, “He’s not dead.” She finally turns around, her eyes glassy and the whole team melts in sorrow. “This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening _again_.” 

Cisco steps down, taking her arm and leading her out of the room as everyone else just stands there in shock, Barry certain they have to open it back up and go get Jay. Harry tells him that no breach can ever be opened again and Barry huffs frustratedly, shaking his head and darting out of the room, not sparing anyone a glance. Harry looks around sadly, taking Jesse out of the room and Joe, Iris and Patty just stay in there, staring at each other in silence.

  
Eventually, Iris speaks. “I guess that debunks our ‘Jay is shady’ theory.” Patty doesn’t say anything, her thinking face on and Iris tilts her head. “Or not?”

Patty looks up then, biting her lip and pausing. “I don’t know. Jay _stepped up_ onto that platform. The breach was still closing, he knew that. We all made sure to stay far away from it, just in case.”

“I saw that too.” Joe says, arms crossed. “It was definitely weird. What are you thinking, partner?”

Patty shakes her head. “Why would Zoom reach through and kill someone? Not just anyone… _Jay_ of all people. I mean, without his speed, he’s not the most helpful member of the team. It’s not like killing him does much other than hurt us emotionally. Wouldn’t Zoom try and get through the breach at the last second instead of wasting that time killing someone? He could’ve ran through and disappeared on this earth.”

Joe hums. “You think he has a way of opening breaches?”

“That makes sense.” Iris says. “That also means we’re not done with him yet.”

Joe nods, raising his hands to slow them down. “Look, let’s not mention this to anyone. They’re grieving and we don’t have any proof. Let’s just keep an eye out. Dig as much as we can, yeah?”

Both girls nod and Patty runs a hand through her hair, telling them she’s going to go see Barry. When she finds him, he’s out of his suit, leaning against the wall in the hallway, staring down at the floor. When he feels her presence, he gives her an inviting look, getting up from his position and pulling her into a hug, burying his face in her shoulder. They sway a little bit and stay embraced for longer than they’ve probably ever hugged, and even when he pulls away, he doesn’t let go of her completely. She gives him a minute and when he doesn’t speak, she does. “Let’s go home.” She whispers, only a little fazed at how easily she referred to her apartment as _their_ home.

He rubs his hands over her shoulders and nods, taking a breath in. “I’m just going to check on Caitlin. I’ll meet you there, okay?” She smiles warmly, nodding and he lifts her chin up with his finger, giving her a long kiss before he’s gone down the hall, into the Cortex.

\--

As the weeks go by, everything seems to have changed.

There’s no big bad anymore, just small-level metas who are easily captured and the same old cases at work, none of them sparking Patty’s interest anymore considering how involved she is in this new-found supernatural world. Things are a little off between her and Barry, too. She didn’t know Jay very well, and even if she’s wrong about him being sketchy, she still wouldn’t feel too much grief anyways. Barry’s grieving, but that’s not all. There’s a lot of guilt there, too. Plus, with all of the pain swirling around in Barry’s head, he’s a little hard to be around, which is putting a damper on his very small and new relationship with Wally, which Patty’s heard from Iris, isn’t going well.

“Hey, partner.” Joe says when he gets to work, Patty waving from her desk. He makes his way over, sitting on the edge of it and sighing.

“If you’re gonna ask me how Barry is, I’m going to give you the same answer I gave you last week.” She says, leaning back in her chair. 

Joe gives her a look and then speaks. “Has he said anything to you about what he saw on Earth-2?”

Patty frowns. “Not a word. I did ask him about it, but he said Harry told him not to say anything. Don’t wanna mesh realities or something like that.”

“Well, I don’t think this mood of his is just about Jay.” Joe replies, looking worried - which isn’t exactly new for him.

Patty hums, thinking about what she could suggest. “How about we have an intervention?”

Joe thinks for a second and then nods. “Yeah. Actually, that could work.”

When she arrives at Star Labs later in the day, she sees a very stressed look on her boyfriend’s face and two people standing beside him that she’s never met before, Cisco and Caitlin at the monitors. “Uh-oh. Have our peaceful few weeks come to an end?” She asks, Barry waving her over to him.

“John, Lyla. This is my girlfriend, Patty. Patty, John and Lyla are friends of ours. They also work with the Green Arrow.” Barry introduces them, arm around her waist.

She waves a little, smiling sincerely. “Nice to meet you. Although, I’m gonna guess you’re here for a not-so-nice reason.”

“Good news. Your best friend’s alive!” Cisco says and Patty frowns in confusion.

“Who’s my best friend?”

“King Shark.” Cisco replies, laughing maniacally. 

Barry huffs, leaving Patty’s side and leaning over the desk Cisco and Caitlin are at, giving them and Lyla orders. When they all head out, the stressed out look on his face hasn’t dissipated as he asks her what she’s doing here. “Well, I was going to talk to you about something but it can wait. Wanna come over tonight?”

“I can’t. I’ve got this thing with Wally.” He sighs, waving his hand, stopping when she looks at him weird. “What?”

She shrugs nonchalantly. “Nothing, I’m just surprised I guess. You two aren’t exactly buddies.”

“Yeah. Well, I’m trying. He doesn’t like me very much.” Barry argues as his girlfriend sends him a look that says ‘BS’.

“You haven’t exactly been the warmest, honey.” He gives her a small little glare and she raises her hands in faux surrender, stepping closer to him. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll see you when I see you.”

She plants a kiss on his cheek, mumbles a little “Love you.” into it and then makes her way out of the Cortex to continue her work day. She’s chilling at home, around eight when she gets a call from Iris, telling her Barry is chasing after King Shark who literally broke into their home and almost killed Wally. She gets over to Joe’s as fast as she can and literally gasps at the state of the beloved house. She shows up just in time to hear a few choice words from Wally, who storms past her as she steps into the house.

“Dad, you need to talk to him.” Iris directs at her father before pulling Patty in for a hug.

“Glad you’re okay.” Patty mumbles, before pulling away and patting Joe on the arm, leaning against the back of the couch to look at her boyfriend, who’s still sitting on the stairs.

“No, it’s fine. I get it.” Barry responds to Iris’ earlier statement. “Look, I know you guys love me but please stop telling Wally all this great stuff about me. Start telling him the truth, I’m not perfect. I make mistakes that even the Flash can’t fix.”

Joe gives Patty a look and then huffs, crossing his arms. “Alright, we’re doing this. What happened on Earth-2? The truth.”

Barry shakes his head, sighing. “I shouldn’t tell you guys this but, um… I met your doppelgangers.” He gestures to Iris, smiling a little. “You were the cop in the family. A good one, too.”

Iris scoffs out a laugh, pointing at her dad. “See? I told you I’d be a good cop.”

“Keep dreaming.” Joe mutters, turning to Barry. “What was I?”

“You were a lounge singer.” Joe jumps up a little excitedly. “You had an amazing voice, too. But you didn’t like me. At all.”

Everyone frowns, fully believing that’s impossible as Barry continues. “Because on that Earth, my parents are alive. You never took me in. But Patty, your dad died over five years earlier and Joe took you in instead. And then we got married and he didn’t think I was good enough for you.”

“We were sisters.” Iris says happily, though Patty’s too caught up in the idea of her and Barry being _married_. She smiles a little, playing with her fingers as Barry speaks again. “We went to go see you perform, and that’s when everything went wrong. Some of Zoom’s metas showed up. They were looking for me, they knew that I shouldn’t have been there. And they attacked, and you got caught in the crossfire and… you died.”

His voice goes quiet on that last bit, tears welling up in his eyes as he sniffs. “I knew that it wasn’t you, that it wasn’t this life.” He cries. “But watching it happen? Living it? It didn’t feel any different because it was all still real. And Jay warned me not to get emotionally sucked in when I went there, and then that’s exactly what happened. And now Joe West on Earth-2 is dead because I showed up.”

“Bear… That’s not your fault.” Joe says, but Barry just shakes his head.

“Yes it is. All of it is. Zoom. This… King Shark. Jay’s death. And then I just left an entire world at Zoom’s mercy.” He argues, dropping his head into his hands when he’s done. 

Patty shuts her eyes to stop the tears from falling out. Everyone remains silent for a minute, so she opens her eyes and speaks. “So, let’s change that.” The group looks at her confused and she stands up straight. “First, we deal with King Shark. Then, we find a way to open up a breach, we go to Earth-2 and we end Zoom, once and for all. You’re right. The people of that earth were still people. But we don’t have to abandon them.”  
  


Iris smiles a little, nudging her side. “I agree. We’re Team Flash. We’ll find another way.”

Barry doesn’t seem too enthusiastic, but he does nod, wiping the tears from his face.

First, we deal with King Shark.

\--

When it’s over, and Barry gives his apology speech to the rest of the team, unveiling Jay’s hat, he and Patty make it back to her apartment, falling down onto the couch. He shifts so she’s resting on top of him comfortably and brings his hands to her face, something that’s becoming a signature move for the two of them. “Thank you. For being so… patient with me, these past few weeks. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what was bothering me sooner.”

She smiles softly, kissing his lips once. “It’s okay. I understand.” She pauses for a second, letting him lean up to kiss her again and then sighs. “There’s actually something I’ve been avoiding talking to you about, too.”

His eyebrows furrow and he hums, looking confused as she gets off him, reaching into the drawer of her TV stand and pulling out the Midway University letter, sitting on the couch cross-legged as he gets up too, sitting beside her. “I applied to the CSI program at Midway after Christmas.”

His face goes soft as he grabs the letter out of her hands, opening it and smiling widely. “You got in.”

“I did.” She says. “But I’ve decided that I’m not going to go.”

He frowns, looking to her as he places the letter on the coffee table. “What? Patty, this is huge. If this is because of me, _please_ , I want you to go. I’m the Flash, I can speed over there in two seconds.”

“That’s not why I’m not going.” She smiles, finding it cute that he thinks she’s worried about long distance. “I always wanted to be a CSI. I only became a cop to catch my father’s killer and Mardon’s at Iron Heights now. So, I applied. But, now everything’s different. I thought I’d get bored of being a cop and so I was chasing this feeling of making a difference and using every skill I have to do some good in the world. But the thing is, now with Team Flash, I get that feeling I’ve been looking for. I feel important and like what I do matters.”

He nods. “It does matter. But I know how badly you wanted to be a CSI…”

“Things change.” Patty shrugs. “I know what I want now. And I’m positive I won’t regret this decision.”

He spares a glance at the letter, thinks for a second, and then smiles back, nodding. “Okay.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you until now. I wanted to be certain that my decision wasn’t influenced.” She says and he just smiles, shaking his head and leaning in.

“I forgive you.” He whispers jokingly, before connecting their lips in a sweet kiss. He brings his hand up to her cheek and kisses her a little harder a few more times, shifting them so that they’re lying down again, except this time, she’s underneath. She brings up to his hair and gets lost in him for a second, before pulling away abruptly.

  
“So… Earth-2 us…” She says and he laughs, resting his body weight on her.

“You haven’t been able to stop thinking about us being married since I told you, have you?”

She shakes her head. “No. But in my defence, I’m not actually that surprised.”

He hums, brushing their noses together. “No?”

“No.” She says, moving her hands so they’re on his cheeks. “I think I’d love you in any universe.”

He grins, voice all soft when he says, “That was so sweet.” and leans down to kiss her again, fully believing that no matter which version of themselves they are, they belong together.

\--

“You got it, babe!” Patty calls out from the tent far back from the ledge of the canyon, ready for Barry to make his jump.

As it turns out, he totally didn’t have it.

When they get back to the Cortex, Barry’s brain is going too fast for all of them to handle, eager to find Zoom and beat him, but Cisco suggests that since they’ve been working so hard all week, what they really need is a break. Even Caitlin agrees, which is rare considering she’s literally always at Star Labs, working.

“Come on, honey. We haven’t been out doing anything fun since our fifth date.” Patty agrees, grabbing his hand and giving him her best pouty look.

He relents, rolling his eyes a little. “Okay. Let’s all go out tonight, then.”

Stupidly, they let Barry pick the venue even though he barely went out _before_ he was the Flash, and the high-energy club is less than ideal for a group with their personalities, but the shots aren’t too bad. He invites Iris and Wally, and Patty’s more than excited for the chance to make a good impression on him, especially now that he and Barry are cool. He seems a little too infatuated with Jesse though, which Patty can’t really blame him for. She stays back with Barry and watches Caitlin, Cisco and Iris dance around like total idiots, grinning so wide it actually hurts.

Barry notices, slipping an arm around her waist and mumbling in her ear, “You look happy.”

“I am.” She hums, looking up at him. “Things are gonna get pretty shitty when we find Zoom so for now, I’m trying to live in the moment. Also, our friends are dorks.”

He chuckles at that, kissing her temple just as Iris waves her hand at them, beckoning them over. Barry’s not too keen on dancing, but he gently shoves his girlfriend away from him. “Go. Have fun.”

She winks, running over to Iris and Cait, the three of them enclosed in a hug that soon turns into some weird jumping movement as they dance along to the beat. After a few minutes, Iris goes to the bar and grabs a drink for both her and Barry, meeting him at the table he’s still standing near, watching the dancefloor. “For you, my friend.”

“Thank you.” He takes it gratefully. “Hey, how’s Wally doing?”

“Good.” She nods. “Diving into schoolwork. How’s Patty? You guys seem… better than ever.”

He smiles at the question. “Yeah, we are.”

Iris snorts. “So, you two being married on another earth didn’t freak you out?”

He laughs, shaking his head. “Surprisingly, no.” Iris’ eyes widen and he can tell exactly what she’s thinking. “No, Iris. I’m not going to propose to her. I just… really, really love her. The possibility of _maybe_ marrying her one day doesn’t really scare me.”

Iris nods in understanding, pausing a second before she asks apprehensively, “Did you tell her about the article? The one that said, you know… _Iris West-Allen_?”

He looks at her for a second, surprised she asked about it and then lets out a breath, looking back towards his girlfriend. “Uh, no. I didn’t really think to.”

“No, yeah. I get it.” Iris reassures quickly, not wanting him to think there’s something wrong with not telling her.

Someone with the same colour lightning as Barry steals all the purses, wallets, and cash in the club and then vanishes, too fast for Barry to catch and everyone quickly realizes how bad this is. Iris tries to do damage control at work, but they want to run the story stating that the Flash did it.

Patty covers for Joe at work, though she gets frequent texts from the team throughout the day. When she gets one from Barry that says Caitlin created a Speed Drug to help Jay and she’s going to question a friend that helped her (which weirdly, Barry didn’t know about), she tells Singh some weird lie she’s not entirely sure he believes and makes her way to Star Labs, hoping to find Cisco. Luckily, it’s just him in the Cortex, Harry and Barry elsewhere and she pulls up a chair beside him, speaking quietly. “I need you to do me a favour. _Without_ telling the rest of the team.”

Cisco narrows his eyes, analyzing her for a second. “That’s your detective face.”

“I need you to trust me on this, Cisco.” She says and he gives her a head nod so that she continues. “Is there any way you can figure out the exact speed this new speedster was going?”

“You’ll have to give me a few minutes.” She sits by him quietly as he works and once he’s done, she leans in even closer, looking around to make sure no one’s there. “Can you compare it to Jay’s when he was on Velocity 9? There should be suit records on there from when you guys were on Earth-2.”

He spins around in his chair, leaning forward and narrowing his eyes again. “You think Jay has something to do with this? He’s dead.”

“I don’t know yet.” Is all she says, before gesturing to the screen. Cisco does his thing and then frowns.

“Oh my god.” He mumbles. “Exact same speed.”

Patty nods, expecting this. “Now compare it to Zoom’s.”

Cisco looks at her like she’s crazy, but does it anyway, gasping when he sees the results. “Same.” He lets out a breath of realization. “Zoom uses Velocity.”

“Not just that, Cisco.” Patty says, a little scared of saying it out loud. “That’s why he wanted Barry’s speed. The Velocity’s killing him.”

Cisco runs an exasperated hand through his hair, turning around to face her completely. “But why is his lightning blue?”

Patty shrugs, genuinely having no idea. “Maybe he uses multiple doses at a time.”

Cisco looks as if he wants to say something, but hesitates. “Patty… I’ve been having vibes of him ever since the other speedster showed up. Zoom.”

“We’re missing something.” Patty whispers as he nods, clearing the calculations from the monitor.

When Eliza checks out and everyone’s back in the Cortex, Cisco gives Patty a look before standing from his chair, wringing his hands together. “Patty and I have to tell you guys something.” He starts, though before anyone can do much, Barry’s disappeared, trapped in the pipeline and the other speedster is demanding they make her V9, shoving Joe through a window and aiming a gun at the rest of them.

Everything moves so fast that by the time they get Barry out of the pipeline, they’ve already given Eliza V9 and Jesse’s seizing on the ground, Caitlin busy giving her a blood transfusion while Patty patches up Joe’s face. Caitlin put a micro-tracker in the V9 serum and when it lights up on the monitor, she’s running back and forth on a bridge, creating enough friction that they’re sure she intends to bring it down. 

Barry gets the people off the bridge but he fails to walk Eliza back, her taking the final dose of pure Velocity 9 and as she’s running away from him, he says into his comms, “Her lightning… it’s turning blue.”

Cisco looks up at Patty, eyes wide as he breathes out, “He _is_ Zoom.”

“What?” Joe says firmly, just as Barry tells them through the comms that Eliza disintegrated into blue dust. Iris walks in then, excitedly announcing that her boss isn’t running the Flash story, though she clearly doesn’t have time to read the room. “What are you talking about, Cisco?” Joe repeats as Barry returns. 

“What’s going on?” He asks, and Cisco sighs, looking to Patty for a split second before rising from his seat. 

“Patty asked me to run some tests earlier.” He says, and Patty earns a confused look from her boyfriend which makes her feel a teeny bit guilty. “Jay, Zoom, and Eliza. Their readings are the same. And that’s because they all use Velocity.”

Patty steps towards Cisco, hoping to make sure he’s not alone in this. “That’s why Zoom asked Harry to use Turtle and steal your speed, Barry. He’s dying. And he needs a cure.”

“Just like Jay.” Iris mumbles, not wanting to believe it.

“No.” Caitlin shakes her head, eyes going glossy already. “Jay’s dead.”

“We’ve seen speedsters be in two places at once before.” Joe steps in, crossing his arms and nodding at Patty as if to say ‘good work’ in a partner-like way.

“That’s not all.” Cisco says. “Ever since we closed the breach, I’ve been vibing Zoom. And every time it’s happened, I’ve been near that helmet.”

Barry sighs, and without warning, walks over and smashes the glass encasing the helmet, pulling it out and handing it to Cisco. He takes it warily, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. He’s only in the vibe for a few seconds but when he pulls out of it, he turns around slowly, whispering to Caitlin. “I’m so sorry.”

Everyone collectively dejects, mouths dropping open. Barry stands still for a moment, and then before anyone can say anything, he’s gone.

\--

She waits for him on the couch at her apartment, hoping he’ll show up but not counting on it.

When he does, he leans against the door and asks, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

She jumps, surprised and turns around. “What do you mean? I didn’t know until Eliza disappeared.”

“But you suspected it.” He says, arms crossed, an angry look in his eyes. “You asked Cisco to run the tests earlier today. Iris and Joe didn’t seem at all fazed, which means you told them, just like you told them about Harry.”

Patty scoffs, not liking how the blame is suddenly on her. “I had no proof. I went off of a feeling, Barry.” She gets up from the couch, staring at him incredulously. “Everyone was grieving. Why would I suddenly suggest that he wasn’t who you thought he was when I didn’t even know the guy?”

“You could’ve told me.” Barry says, unmoving.

“And you would’ve believed me?” She asks, knowing the answer. He opens his mouth and then closes it, looking down at the ground. “That’s what I thought. Point your fingers at someone else.”

He sighs, leaning his head back against the door and covering his face with his hands. “I’m sorry.” He says, moving closer to her, though he doesn’t touch her. “I’m not mad at you. I’m not. I’m…” He trails off and she peers at him sadly, stepping closer to him and slowly reaching a hand up to cup his cheek. He leans his head against hers, breathing hard. “I’m mad at me.”

“I know.” She whispers, stretching up to wrap her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a tight hug as he melts against her, shutting his eyes.

He doesn’t pull away when he asks, “How long did you suspect him?”

“You don’t wanna know the answer to that.” She says after a moment and he pulls away, keeping his arms locked around her.

“I do.” He says firmly, and she sighs, nodding.

“Since I met him.” She says, and instantly regrets it once she watches his face fall. “But like I said, it was just a feeling. I can’t describe it, he just… felt different to me than you, and Cisco, Caitlin, Iris. Joe.”

He nods, sucking in his cheek. “You had a feeling about Harry, too.”

“Yeah, but that was different. I didn’t feel like he was a bad person, just a desperate one. I thought Jay was sketchy and secretive but if I knew he had the potential to be Zoom, I would’ve told you. I promise.” She says sincerely.

“I know.” He says, pulling her back in. “If you get another feeling, tell me. I promise I’ll believe you. No matter who it is.” She nods against him, rubbing a hand over his back soothingly. “I love you. That’s the only thing I’m certain of now.”

“I love you, too.” She whispers.


	5. the race of his life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> today we finish off season 2!!
> 
> there's a lil more snowest in here than last chapter including one of my fave tropes - bed sharing!! yay!!
> 
> plus spallen bc they're so easy to write. next chapter will be season 3!! AKA FLASHPOINT <3

Iris isn’t doing well.

In the grand scheme of things, her problems are so not on the scale that the rest of the team’s are right now, but she’s still struggling. She’s blown off a total of three dates with her editor and each time, she can feel him getting more and more agitated. But she just can’t stop thinking about Eddie.

Even with the video Barry found of him - even with how it felt like him telling her to move on - she thinks there’s got to be something else holding her back. With Barry and Cisco trying to find a way to reopen the breaches and Patty stuck on a case, she goes to Star Labs and Caitlin, to her credit, can immediately tell something’s up.

“Iris, if I’m being honest, even despite everything we’ve now learned about Jay, I moved too fast with him. I pushed myself because I wanted to stop feeling the pain of being a widow and I wasn’t ready.” Iris is a little surprised by this, though it makes sense. She lost Ronnie twice; Iris can’t even imagine that. “If I had any advice for you, I’d tell you to trust yourself. Stay casual, don’t throw yourself into anything, but also don’t overthink it. One of these days, someone will come along and it’ll be so easy that you don’t even notice it.”

Iris hums, reaching out to grab her hand. “You know, the same could be said about you.”

“Maybe one day.” She says, though she doesn’t look the slightest bit hopeful. She does squeeze Iris’ hand, though.

There’s just something about Caitlin, Iris realizes. Her strength in the face of absolute tragedy, yet there’s a vulnerability to her that’s almost powerful. She’s incredibly wise for someone not much older than her and she gives the team a warmth it could never have without her. There’s something else in there, too. A darkness that she’s never let out. One derived from too many losses and years of an estranged relationship with her mother that Iris is sure she doesn’t even know a quarter of. 

When they figure out how to open a breach and come up with a plan based on their newfound knowledge of Zoom’s real name and his identity on Earth-2, Iris, Caitlin, Joe, Harry and Patty all hide in Thawne’s time vault, guns at the ready as Caitlin holds the tablet, watching it all unfold. 

As stupid as they all agree this plan was, they truly didn’t think it’d fail this badly. Iris and her dad return home to find it completely trashed, with  _ Your Speed For Wally _ splattered on the wall in big serial killer letters. The team convenes at the house, Barry staring out the window solemnly while the rest of them bicker out suggestions until Joe announces abruptly that he needs a minute, retreating upstairs. Barry follows him wordlessly.

When he flashes them all back to Star Labs, he tells them that there is no other option and he has to give Zoom his speed. Wally’s family. No one likes the idea, but no one argues either. Cisco vibes Zoom, tells him the deal’s on and Iris watches Patty slip her hand into Barry’s, a small motion that actually makes Iris feel a little better. If Barry has to live life without speed, at least he’s not living it on his own. 

He shows up in no time, dropping Wally after a bit of a debate and Cisco gets him out of there immediately, the rest of them moving to the lab as Harry works on the device. It’s then that Hunter Zolomon explains exactly how and why he is Zoom. When the device is finished, the room grows even more tense as Barry steps up onto the treadmill, running for only a minute until he slows down, falling off of it from exhaustion. Everyone rushes in, Patty pulling him close to her until Zoom grabs him by the neck in an instant, pinning him against the wall.

Caitlin pleads with him to let Barry go, saying anything that comes to mind, even if she may not believe it and then Zoom looks at her once, almost longingly, before he’s gone, taking Caitlin with him. Both Cisco and Iris scream her name, though it’s no use. They all just stare out the door, though there’s no trace of her left behind. Barry rubs his hands over his face in frustration, letting out a sob before he walks out of the room, Patty following after him. Iris falls to the ground, sitting on the platform, stunned at how wrong everything is with their world. 

Later, after doing her best to comfort Cisco, she finds Barry and Patty in the hallway. She can’t help but eavesdrop, just wanting to know how her best friend is doing, but their dynamic has shifted now that he has Patty. Iris doesn’t mind it - their dynamic had shifted when Iris fell in love with Eddie, too - but it does mean she wants to be respectful of it and give Patty the space she needs to be his support system, something that’ll only help their relationship grow stronger.

Barry’s facing the wall, face against it as he cries, Patty holding onto him tightly, chin resting on his shoulder as she whispers the most reassuring words she can muster into his ear. Slowly, he turns, sinking down onto the floor and she goes right along with him, arm around his shoulders, faces close together. “We’re all here. We all love you. You’re not doing this alone. We are going to find Caitlin.” Iris hears, the words actually reassuring her a little. “We’re all going to do this together. Your speed is not your strength, we are.”

He leans into her, still crying and Iris sighs quietly, walking down the hall and sitting down in one of the chairs in the Cortex, head in her hands. Caitlin is gone. 

She’s scared of what this team - and honestly, of what  _ life _ \- will look like without her.

\--

Patty wakes before he does, hoping to catch a few moments when he doesn’t have that defeated look on his face. As he sleeps, he’s peaceful, but she knows the second he wakes his demons will be haunting him all throughout this day, the first day without his speed.

She brushes a hand through his hair a few times, waiting until it wakes him up and giving him a soft smile when he does open his eyes. He only sinks a little further into the pillow. “We gotta go.” Is all she whispers, planting a kiss under his eye and getting out of bed, opening the blinds so he’ll have to get up. He does his morning routine with a sad look on his face, and she almost wishes she didn’t wake him.

She doesn’t see him for most of the work day, until they drive to Star Labs, only to find out that they’ve got nothing on Caitlin except that she’s alive and in Zoom’s cage, which they have no way of getting to. Barry decides to stick around and doesn’t even kiss her goodbye, but she tells herself to stop being so worried about something as small as that when he just lost what he feels makes him,  _ him _ .

Cisco gives her a sympathetic smile on the way out. She hates it.

\--

Whilst Barry’s busy analyzing residue from Wells’ crash site, Iris takes the opportunity to ask the question that’s been bugging her the whole ride up here. “So, not that I don’t love this one-one-one time with you, but how come you asked me to come here and not Patty? I mean, she’s your girlfriend and she’s also a cop.”

Barry brushes her off, still staring at the ground and doing his CSI work Iris has never understood. “Yeah, but you’re a journalist, right? You have skills, too.”

“Barry.” She says firmly, seeing right through his shit.

He huffs, getting up and moving over to analyze the van. “I can’t talk to her right now, okay?”

Iris frowns. “Why not?”

“Because I’m angry.” He says, a little too aggressive so he tells himself to dial it down. “Last time I was this angry was when I found out about Jay and I started a fight with Patty for no reason. I basically insinuated that it was her fault for not telling me.”

Iris scoffs angrily. “Well, that was a dick thing to do.”

“I know.” He says pointedly. “That’s why I can’t do it again.”

“Okay, but if you avoid her when she’s just trying to help, she’s gonna think something’s wrong.”

“Something  _ is _ wrong!” He says, exasperated. “Zoom hates me. He wants to take away the thing I love most, and the thing I love most is her. That’s the reason I was going to end things with her just after Christmas. Because I couldn’t protect her. And now it’s even worse.”

Iris shakes her head. “Barry, I’d bet my whole bank account, that she doesn’t care about the risks if it means being with you.  _ None of us _ care about the risks. We’re a family. We win together, we lose together. We’re never going to be able to bring Caitlin home if you start pushing people away.”

He doesn’t say much after that, her speech seeming to have shut them up, but he does get a blood sample from the van and then the both of them are on their way to find Jesse. When they get back to Star Labs, Cisco IDs their meta and Jesse helps him work on the molecular structure of his cells to see why he’s suddenly a lot older looking than he should be, though by the time facial rec picks him up, they have nothing. Barry calls Joe and Patty for backup and Iris stays at Star Labs with the other two to work comms - something she’s finding she really likes, by the way - and then they’re back from the warehouse with no luck not much later, though they find out that everytime this meta exerts himself, he gets older.

When Patty and Joe have to get back to the station, Iris tries her best to use her best friend intuition to get Barry to say what he’s thinking. It’s what she thought it would be; he doesn’t know who he is without speed.

She tells him what she knows to be true: he’s a hero, suit or no suit, speed or no speed. It’s in his bones. 

\--

Even without his speed, Barry saves the day.

It was a group effort, of course. Cisco and Jesse altering the suit and figuring out where Harry and the meta were, Joe and Patty going in as backup - but still. Barry’s the hero.

He comes home to Patty with a lighter expression. He’s still a little hopeless, but he talks about the meeting he had with Wally as the Flash and how good it makes him feel that Wally believes in him, even without knowing who he is or that he doesn’t have powers anymore. As they lie in Patty’s bed, she starts to think that he’ll be okay, and just as importantly,  _ they _ will be okay. As he drifts off, she thinks about what their future looks like.

She thinks about their Earth-2 counterparts, married and probably doing something very similar to what they are right now. She thinks about her dad and how he’d always said she’d fall in love with someone who had a hero complex just like she’s always had. She thinks about Joe and Iris and how she feels like she belongs with them, not just because they’re family on Earth-2, but because they treat her that way on this earth, too. She thinks about Caitlin and Cisco and their unwavering loyalty to Barry, and therefore loyalty to her. She  _ wants _ this to be her future. Them.  _ Him _ .

When Barry tells her he’s going to get his speed back by experiencing another particle accelerator explosion, those dreams shatter.

And then, what pisses her off the most, is that she was the last one to know about it.

Barry tells her he’s going on a trip to see his dad, and then he brings his dad back with him which doesn’t really set off any ringers in Patty’s head, too anxious to meet him. Henry Allen is unbelievably sweet, warm, fatherly. He reminds her so much of her own dad that she kind of tears up when he hugs her. “I’ve heard great things about you. I’ve definitely never seen my son this in love.”

She lets out a sheepish laugh, grinning a little too wide. “Good to know.” She says as Barry pulls her into his side.

She doesn’t see him signal to the team to be quiet about their not-yet-finished plan.

She does, however, get a text from Singh to not under any circumstances come back to the precinct and it’s not long before Joe’s there, explaining what went down and everyone’s trying to come up with a plan. Barry holds her a little tighter when Harry tells them that Zoom will kill all the policemen first. 

Harry gets agitated quickly, no matter how many suggestions they throw out and he tells them there’s no other way, and that they have to get Barry’s speed back. Patty thinks he’s going to give them a new suggestion as to how to do that, but she feels the tension in the room and everyone seems to know what he’s talking about except her. She looks up at Barry with an intense stare as Harry leaves, Joe exiting as well to set up a make-shift precinct at Jitters. “What does he mean?”

A guilty expression flashes across his face for just a second and he takes her elbow gently, leading her into the hallway. He shifts uncomfortably, standing in front of her and then wrings his hands together, coming right out with it. “Harry thinks that he can recreate the particle accelerator explosion, contain it and give me my speed back.”

She shakes her head in disbelief, eyes wide and eyebrows arched. “You wanna get struck by lightning again?”

He shrugs, mouth hanging open as he looks for the words. “I- I don’t want to, but it might be the only way. Look, I haven’t made up my mind yet, so…” She lets out a shaky breath, running a hand through her hair as she turns around so he doesn’t see her eyes well up. “Patty, it’s complicated, okay? But a lot of people are gonna die. This city needs the Flash.”

He places his hand on her shoulder to turn her but she brushes it off, turning herself. “And we need you!  _ Barry _ , not the Flash.”

“I can’t protect you as Barry. I can’t protect anyone!” He argues, hesitating before cupping her cheeks so quick that she can’t shove him off. “Zoom is gonna terrorize this planet. And he’ll go after you first.” He says, before lowering his voice to a whisper. “I can’t let you die.”

“But it’s not even gonna matter if you die.” She says, face wet from tears now and her voice hoarse and broken. “Or what if you go into a coma? What then?”

He shakes his head, sighing heavily. “Patty, we’ve already been over every outcome.”

She stares at him for a second, her mouth open slightly and then she says in a small voice, “I’m not watching this.” She slips her head out of his hands, whispering “I can’t.” and then backs up towards the elevators.

He’s stunned a little, his hands still floating in the air from where her face was but he snaps out of it, looking up at her. “Patty, you can’t leave. He’ll come after you.”

“I’ll be fine.” Is all she says as she presses the button on the elevator, noticing Henry appear behind his son, who’s just staring, watching her leave. She turns her head to the side so she doesn’t have to see it, and then the doors close.

\--

She walks around the streets of Central for hours, which she knows is dangerous but she’s still heartbroken and terrified, so she just keeps up with the news on her phone and ignores Joe and Singh’s calls. 

Then, she gets an idea.

She sneaks into the back door of the precinct and hides herself in Singh’s office discreetly, watching as Zoom yells at Caitlin, pulling on his mask and then flashing out of there. Patty takes her chance and runs out, unlocking her handcuffs and helping her up. Caitlin shakes her head vigorously, tears streaming down her cheeks. “He’ll know I’m gone.”

“I don’t care.” Patty says immediately, squeezing her hand. “You belong with us.”

When they get to the main floor of Star Labs, they hear both Wally and Jesse calling out, just as the floor beneath them starts to rumble. They interlace hands, running towards the Cortex, stumbling their way there as the rumbling gets worse, shaking the floor and knocking things off shelves. Just as Wally and Jesse come into view by the elevators, a wave of orange fills the room and they’re knocked off their feets, sent flying into each other.

They lay on the floor, inches apart, every one of them with their eyes closed, though only two hearts are beating.

\--

Iris wails into her dad’s arms at the sight of Barry’s destroyed suit, laying by the contraption. Henry leans against the railing, head in his hands as Harry stammers a stew of words out, none that mean much. He presses a button on the monitor asking for Jesse and Wally to come down, but he gets no answer.

That’s enough to jumpstart both Wests’ into action.

They run through the halls of Star Labs, gasping when they see Wally, Jesse and Patty unconscious, Caitlin trying to perform CPR on Jesse. “Wally’s fine, just knocked out. Harry I need you to take over CPR, Patty’s heart isn’t beating either.”

He does so immediately, both Joe and Iris dropping to the ground, trying to wake up Wally as Caitlin performs CPR on Patty. Wally jumps awake a few seconds later, eyes going wide at the sight of the other two on the ground and both Wests sigh, Joe declaring he’ll go get Henry. Jesse jolts awake next, her heart now beating, though she passes out moments later. It’s three minutes before Patty wakes up, Henry already seeing to Jesse and Joe helps Caitlin get her in a bed, both doctors starting their analysis. 

Cisco and Iris are sent to the basement morgue to retrieve the files Thawne kept on Barry’s condition after the first explosion, only to be met with a reanimated version of Tony Woodward, the MetalMan. Cisco and Harry get to work on finding Barry, Iris and Joe are tasked with stopping Tony from killing anyone, and Henry and Caitlin are busy looking after Jesse and Patty.

When Iris and Joe lead Tony back to Star Labs and the electromagnets Cisco built fail, their last option is to lock themselves in the breach room along with the two unconscious girls, but everyone knows that plan won’t last long, so Cisco tries one last time to reach Barry, bringing Iris in with him.

The second Barry gets out of the Speed Force, there isn’t much time for explaining anything, really and he jumps into action, luring Tony into the workshop again and using his speed to charge up the magnets, succeeding in killing him. “Okay, what did I miss? What’s going on?” He says, frowning at the sad look on Iris’ face.

She places a hand on Barry’s arm comfortingly. “Barry… the explosion shook the entire building. Patty was here and she’s unconscious. So is Jesse.”

His face falls immediately. “Where is she?”

“They’re probably wheeling her to the medbay right now.” Cisco replies, patting his arm and leading them out of the workshop.

He’s correct, and they reach Caitlin’s lab to find both Patty and Jesse’s bed right beside each other. Barry steps up the stairs, slowly making his way to stand in between them. He takes a breath, and then reaches down to touch both their hands, jolts of electricity going through his body as both girls gasp awake, leaving the rest of the team stunned. He sits down on the side of Patty’s bed as she squints, reaching up to grab onto him, a little bit out of it. “What happened?”

“You got hit when the explosion went off.” He says, reaching out to pull her against him. “But don’t worry. You’re okay now.”

Harry leans down with tears in his eyes, clinging tightly to Jesse as the rest of the group stands by the doors, eyes wide in wonder. “Are you magic now?” Cisco asks.

“No. It’s…” Barry trails off and Wells finishes for him.

“It’s the Speed Force.” He says, running a hand through Jesse’s hair.

Barry squeezes Patty tighter, her head resting in his neck as everyone sort of files in, Iris keeping close to Caitlin, giving her a side-hug. Patty removes her head only to look up at her boyfriend, noticing the suit he’s wearing. “Well, did it work?”

He smiles, nodding. “Yeah, it did. I have my speed back.” He says quietly, dropping a kiss onto her forehead. She lets out a little sigh of relief, grabbing the hand farthest from her and squeezing it. Barry looks around at the team, still not completely caught up based on however long he spent in the Speed Force. “I’m still confused. What happened here? Caitlin, how are you even back?”

She takes in a shaky breath, arms crossed over herself. “Patty came and got me, but… he definitely knows I’m gone by now. I think he let me go.”

At her almost broken demeanor, Patty reaches a hand out and squeezes hers. “Are you okay?”

Caitlin takes another breath. “I’ve kind of been on autopilot since we escaped. I thought we were gonna die, and then I thought you and Jesse were gonna die…” She trails off, voice like a whisper and Iris wraps her arm around her, rubbing her shoulder.

“Let’s take a walk.” She says, leading her out of the room. 

When they’re gone, Joe directs a question towards Jesse and Patty. “Do you two feel okay?” Both girls nod, though they look tired and Henry asks his son if he can do a quick checkup for a few minutes, Joe telling Barry, “I’ll stay with her.”

He nods gratefully, kissing his girlfriend's temple and whispering, “I’ll be right back.” before he follows his dad out, Joe moving to sit beside Patty on the bed. 

“You alright, partner?” He asks, though it’s more of a statement since that question was just answered minutes ago. She smiles at him, letting his arm going around her in a friendly way and pulling her sleeves over her hands a little.

“Yeah, I weirdly feel pretty good. Must’ve been the sleep.” She says, Jesse agreeing.

“How’s Wally?” Jesse asks, still not making any moves to sit up.

“He’s alright. At home.” Joe responds, taking in a deep breath, finally able to relax after the day they’ve had. “We’re so lucky everybody’s okay.”

Harry nods, kissing Jesse’s head as Patty nudges Joe, asking, “Aside from knocking the two of us on our asses, how did the particle accelerator thing go? You said something about the Speed Force?”

“It’s like a different realm that only speedsters can see that exists outside of time and space. It gives them their powers, acts as a sort of guide. Unless they’re using their powers for evil, obviously.” Harry explains, Jesse muttering something about it sounding religious.

“We thought we lost him there for a minute, but everything worked out okay in the end.” Joe reassures her. “Just keep an eye on him for me, would you?”

She nods. “Always.”

\--

Even if Caitlin wanted to be alone tonight, Iris doesn’t think she’d let her. She drives the fragile woman to her dad’s house, helps her inside carefully and says goodnight to Wally, who gives her a few questionable glances, leading Caitlin up the stairs into Iris’ old bedroom. She sits her down on the bed and rummages through the closet for any sleep clothes she may have left here once she moved out, placing a shirt and shorts on the bed, stopping in her tracks when she sees the look on the woman’s face. She kneels down in front of her, hands going on her knees and speaks softly, pouring as much reassurance into it as possible. “Caitlin, Jay’s not here. You’re safe. I promise.”

“He’s going to terrorize the city. We can’t stop him.” She whispers, grabbing at Iris’ hands, cheeks wet from tears.

“Caitlin…” Iris whispers sympathetically, shaking her head. “Maybe that’s true. But he won’t terrorize you, I promise. I won’t let him take you, none of us will. And I won’t leave your side for a second.”

The sincerity in her voice is what forces Caitlin to finally look at her, gripping her hands tighter and finding comfort in the small smile on Iris’ face as she speaks again. “You can stay by me as long you want. Do you mind if we both sleep here?”

Iris’ thumb strokes the back of her left hand and Caitlin sends her a small smile, nodding. “Stay.” She breathes out, and the two of them keep their position for a moment before Iris gets up, pulling out some clothes from the closet for herself to sleep in. They get changed with their backs to each other, Caitlin finishing first and climbing under the covers, staring at the ceiling until Iris texts the team group chat to let them know where they are - just in case Barry goes to Iris’ or Cisco goes to Caitlin’s - and then climbs in beside her, pulling the covers up to her chin and laying on her side to face her.

“Thank you.” Caitlin whispers after a moment of silence, also turning on her side to face Iris.

Iris smiles softly, shifting more comfortably. “You never have to thank me.” She says, pausing to enclasp their hands together. “I’m just glad we didn’t lose you.”

Caitlin nods slowly, staring at their hands until she lets her eyes slip shut, drifting off first.

\--

It takes a half hour for Henry to finish checking over Barry and so when he returns to the Cortex, Patty’s in there chatting with Cisco, Jesse still resting with Harry in the medbay. Patty tells him she has a clean bill of health and she’s allowed to go home, so Barry wraps an arm around her and checks to see if Cisco needs a run home, though he says he feels more comfortable sleeping at Star Labs tonight.

He runs Patty to her apartment, locking the door as she falls down onto the sofa, legs curled up underneath her. “You alright?”

She hums an affirmative, patting the spot beside her. “Are you?”

“Yeah.” He says sincerely, tossing the keys on the coffee table and sitting down next to her, arm resting on her knees. “My dad’s decided to stay in town. He’s at Joe’s tonight. So are Iris and Caitlin, I don’t think either one of them wanted to be alone.”

“I’m glad you’re here.” She says softly.

“Nowhere else I’d be.” He says genuinely, bringing himself closer to her.

She looks at him for a second. “I’m sorry I was so angry before.”

  
  


He shakes his head, grabbing both of her hands and kissing them once. “You were scared, I know that.”

“Terrified.” She corrects with a whisper.

He nods, admitting, “I’m terrified, too. All the time. But now, with my speed, it’s easier for me to face him knowing that I can do a lot more to protect you.”

She hums, a little smile on her face as she shakes her head to get hair out of her face. “You know what would make me feel _ really  _ protected?” He raises his eyebrows. “If you moved in.”

A grin breaks out on his face and he flashes away, back a few moments later in the same position. “Done.” He says, as she notices a few differences to her living room. A picture of his parents by the photo of her dad, one of Iris and Joe on the mantelpiece, his favourite blanket on the other end of the couch.

She giggles a little, leaning closer to him and resting her hand on his face, planting a light kiss on his lips. “My hero.”

\--

“Are you guys sure you’re okay to be here? You know, you can take more time if you need it.” Joe says to both Caitlin and Patty when they show up to Star Labs the next day.

Both girls decline, stating they’d rather be working and then the rest of the team takes that as their cue to leave it alone, instead working on Zoom’s army that’s taken over just about every block. 

After Mercury Labs comes down, they’re all pretty hopeless - except for Barry, who’s got a newfound optimism that they all agree is going to get him killed. Patty lets Henry take up the ‘emotional talk’ opportunity, half because Patty’s not sure she’s going to be able to convince him of anything and half because having Henry around is new and she wants him to feel just as much a part of the team as anyone else. So instead, she watches Harry, Cisco and Cait try to come up with a way to stop all the Earth-2 metas at once using a different frequency, keeping an eye on Caitlin while she does so. Iris texted her that morning and asked her to, since she’s busy at CCPN, plus apparently Wally’s taken up speeding around Central City and stopping metas on his own. 

When they do, and it works, Iris suggests an official welcome home party for Henry since he’s sticking around, and Patty goes home with Joe and Iris to help set up while Barry, Caitlin and Cisco finish locking up the rest of the metas. “Caitlin seems better than she did earlier.” Patty says and Iris nods, setting out the cutlery.

“Yeah, she told me she’s been seeing him in places he isn’t, but I know Cait. She’ll be alright.” Iris responds, finishing off. 

“She will be. And so will you, Iris.” Patty says, earning her a confused look.

Patty smiles warmly, patting her arm before making her way to the other side of the table. “I know you’ve been struggling with the whole idea of moving on from Eddie and finding someone who makes you feel safe enough to do that, and I’ve also noticed the way you’ve been looking at Caitlin lately. Even before Jay took her.”

Iris frowns, wringing her hands together awkwardly. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that if you ever want to talk about feelings you may or may not have for Caitlin, I’m always here. And so is Barry.” Patty grins, trying to make Iris feel comfortable with her. “And for what it’s worth, I think you should pursue it. You two are good together. There’s something there between you, like magic and understanding. You’ll never know if she’s what you’re looking for if you don’t open yourself up to her.”

Iris sighs, shaking her head and looking down. “I mean, I’m not freaked out or anything. I’ve dated girls before, but I… Caitlin’s different. She’s on the team, and we’re all like family. Plus, she’s been through so much.”

“So have you.” Patty argues, hands on her hips. “No one heals alone. And no one heals by standing still, either. You have to move.”

Iris nods slowly, a thoughtful look in her eyes and Patty pats her shoulder again, moving to help Joe in the kitchen to let Iris think about it. Once Caitlin and Cisco have arrived, along with Dr. McGee, Wally, Harry and Jesse, they all wait in the living and dining rooms for Barry and Henry to arrive, surprised looks on both their faces. “Surprise!” They all yell, sporting matching grins.

“Blame Iris.” Cisco says, already a glass of wine in his hand.

“Okay!” Iris starts to defend herself. “I just figured, since Henry is back for good and Zoom has screwed off to another planet, we have some down time and we deserve to celebrate having your dad back. We’re all happy you’re here, Henry.”   
  


Henry gets a soft look in his eye and Patty can’t help but pull Iris into a side hug. Her friend is so cute and kind-hearted, and Patty thinks that on the other world where they’re sisters, she’d love her just as much as she does now. Barry grins, walking over to them as Henry thanks everyone, saying hello to Dr. McGee. He pulls Patty into him, giving her a short kiss as he looks around at the room filled with family.

“I hope you don’t mind that I invited Dr. McGee.” Iris says and Barry chuckles, peering at the bashful look on his father’s face.

“It looks like somebody’s glad you did.” He grins, Patty laughing at the sight. 

Iris pauses for a second, looking between her best friend and his girl. “It seems like you are invincible after all.”

“Told you.” He says, smiling wider as Patty reaches her hand up to intertwine with the one he has hanging over her shoulder. “The Speed Force is with us.”

Iris nods, looking directly at Patty with a loaded look in her eyes. “Yeah, I’m feeling a little invincible today, too.” She says, and Patty takes that as ‘I’m-going-to-see-where-things-go-with-Caitlin’.

Patty winks at her and Iris wrinkles her nose just as Caitlin walks in, placing their dinner on the table, moving around it to stand beside Iris, the two of them wordlessly agreeing to sit together. 

“A toast.” Joe announces, those in the living room coming into the dining area. “To family.”

“Mmm.” Cisco says enthusiastically. “That’s my kind of toast. Short and sweet. Let’s eat!”

He moves to the table but stops abruptly, eyes spacing out as they realize he’s in a vibe. When he’s out of it, there’s so much fear in his eyes that Patty’s sure he’s going to tell them Zoom is coming. “Earth-2 splitting in half, straight down the poles. Tell me I didn’t just vibe the future.”

Everyone exchanges various worried and confused glances, though in seconds, Zoom is standing beside Henry, and then he’s gone with him, Barry chasing after them.

Before it’s even happened, Patty has the feeling that she knows how this ends.

\--

When it’s all over - one funeral later, Zoom taken away by time wraiths, Jay Garrick unmasked and sent home along with Harry and Jesse - they reconvene at the West house, the year they’ve spent fighting nonstop finally over. They sit in the living room, talking quietly amongst themselves as Barry stands off to the side, unable to bring himself to join in. Patty watches him leave through the front door and she steps out after him, bringing a blanket off of Joe’s couch. When she gets out there, he’s sitting on the steps of the porch and she wraps the blanket around his shoulders before dropping down beside him, saying nothing.

He glances at her from the side and then looks straight ahead, sniffing. He waits a minute before speaking. “Something’s…  _ broken _ inside of me now. I thought I had come to terms with all of the losses I’ve faced and now… I feel like I’ve lost everything.”

She nods in understanding, all too familiar with the feeling of losing a father who was your everything. “I wish I could help you.” She says, slipping her hand into his. “But I know I can’t.”

He smiles slightly, turning to face her, not letting go of her hand. “You help me.” He nods, gazing at her with a little bit of wonder. “You’ve been helping me all day. I swear, with one touch, it’s like you take it all away.”

The sentiment makes her heart burst and her eyes tear up a little as he continues. “But you can’t hold me forever.” He says, his eyes going dark and certain. “I’ve thought about this a lot. I had the opportunity to save my mother last year and I didn’t take it. I didn’t want to lose everything I had because of her death.”

She presses her lips together, seeing where he’s going and she whispers, “Now, you’ve changed your mind.” He nods, eyes glossy and she can see his breath in the cold. “I understand. If I could bring my dad back, I would.” She says, sniffing as she reaches out to wipe a tear from his cheek. “But, you know this means we might not be together ever again.”

He smiles as if he’s already thought about it, shaking his head and using his hands to cup her face, staring into her eyes sincerely. “I promise you. Wherever you are, I will find you. And we  _ will _ be together. I love you.” He whispers, pressing a short kiss to her lips. “I love you more than anything. In any universe, we’re supposed to spend forever together.”

She laughs through her tears, knocking his forehead lightly with hers. “You are  _ not _ proposing to me right now.”

He laughs, still crying a little. “No, I’m not. No matter how much I want to.” Her eyes widen a little, filled with love and she smiles at him. “So, if I have to make you fall in love with me for the second time, do you have any pointers?”

“Don’t show up blind to our first date.” She jokes and he lets out a breath.

“I don’t know, that worked pretty well the first time.” He jokes.

She gazes up at him, face going serious as she runs a hand down the side of his face. “You remember what I said to you? I’d love you in any universe.” She says, pausing a minute as her tears start again. “And by the way, if you weren’t leaving and you  _ did _ happen to be proposing to me right now… I’d say yes. Just for the record.”

He kisses her hard then, the force of it pushing her backwards a little and she tries to savour the feeling of his hands on her cheeks, his body so close, the love she feels radiating off his every move. He kisses her a few more times, whispering, “I love you.” into her lips and then he pulls away, taking the blanket off of himself to wrap her up in it as they both stand, sniffling.

He gives her one last look, one that he uses to convey everything he feels and she nods, wrapping her own arms around herself and grabbing at the blanket, watching him step down off the porch and then run down the street.


	6. going through changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> flashpoint and the beginning of season three.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so #1: there are more things changed w Flashpoint because obvi Patty wasn't here for that and I love her (this fic is literally about her, so)  
> #2: i physically could not write cisco being angry with barry. it's just too painful for these best buds, so i wrote a little bit and then resolved them pretty quickly.  
> #3: let women have family/friends outside of their love interests!! meaning: a flashpoint change is patty has friends and a life outside of barry :)
> 
> hope you enjoy :)

Life is good.

Barry’s been able to genuinely say that for three months straight now. In the other life, he hadn’t said anything along those lines since his mom died. But she’s not dead. Now, she never was.

He’s reminded of that every single morning when he strolls down the stairs of his childhood home and sees her in the kitchen drinking coffee, or in the living room reading the newspaper, or in the garden with his father, sitting and talking. Every morning for three months, he’s kissed her on the cheek and she’s said, “Good morning, beautiful boy.” and his father has told him something interesting he read or asked him what his day looks like.

“I have a date with Patty.” He says on the morning of the eighty-fourth day of the dream life he created.

“Another one?” Henry says, twisting his wedding ring around his finger. “You really like this girl, don’t you, slugger?”

“Oh, we’re moving well past the like-stage, Dad.” Barry replies, reaching over the counter and pouring himself a glass of orange juice. 

His mother laughs from her spot at the dining table, reading the paper. “What date number is this, honey?”

“Seventh.” He responds happily, taking a bite of toast. “We’re going to this bookstore she found.”

So, that’s what they do. _This_ Patty is, like him, _happier_. Her father’s alive and her parents are still together, the three of them having moved from Chesterfield when Patty was a senior in high school. She’s not a cop, or a CSI like Barry expected - instead, she’s a painter and a damn good one. Their fifth date had been him at her studio apartment making breakfast while she finished a piece she’d been working on and struggling to not just tell her he loves her over and over again. They’re not there yet - not in this universe. 

She picks a book for him and he picks one for her and then they part ways with a kiss, him heading off to feed the Reverse Flash dinner and listen to him spew out dumb insults and empty threats. And then he goes home, to his mom and his dad. He’s free.

When he’s at work and Joe comes in for the first time in weeks, Barry gets a headache. Though it’s more than a headache - it’s flashes of the old life coming back to him, reminding him that this Joe actually can’t stand him.

It happens again when the Flash is knocked unconscious, and Barry rips off his mask to see Wally, memories of his younger brother slapping him in the face as he realizes that he’s out there fighting alone.

Wally takes him back to his headquarters - which is just his apartment - and Iris shows up, only recognizing him from the few times he’s sparked up conversation with her at Jitters. They’re not best friends in this life, but this is better than nothing.

Since he knows Wally’s identity, they don’t try to keep anything a secret anymore and they discuss their plans to take down The Rival right in front of him, and then he follows them along to Star Labs, which Cisco now owns (he’s also a billionaire, but there’s a part of Barry that believes even the old Cisco should’ve been rewarded for his genius like this). 

He gets another, more painful wave of memories when he’s trying to convince Cisco to help them, all of the moments that bonded them crashing through him and then they’re gone, and he forgets what they were even about; he can’t picture them anymore.

He races to the warehouse he’s keeping Thawne in, and the man is so smug he wants to phase in there and kick the shit out of him, though it’s not the first time he’s had that thought. “The more you use your speed, the faster you lose your memories. Soon, you’ll forget you’re a speedster and then this timeline will cement. You will never be able to go back to how things were!” He yells, and Barry shakes his head, already walking out.

“Fine by me!”

He flashes to Patty’s apartment, then Iris and Wally’s and brings them all to Star Labs, where he explains to them and Cisco the alternate timeline he created. Patty takes a minute to get over the fact that her boyfriend of two months is a speedster while the other ones fully don’t believe him about the time-travel thing, until Iris speaks up. “I believe you.”

“You do?” He says, at the same time Cisco does.

“I love my life. I love my job, my brother.” She starts. “But something’s been missing… _off_ for a while. And now that I’ve met you, that feeling is gone.”

He lets out a little sigh of relief as Wally steps forward, crossing his arms and seemingly trusting his sister’s judgement. “In the other timeline, you said we were your team…”

He smiles, shrugging his shoulders. “You were also my brother.” He turns to Iris. “And you were my sister. We were raised together.”

Patty, who’s been sitting on the other side of the room, eerily silent, speaks up. “And us?”

He grins even wider, speaking softly. “You were my girlfriend in that timeline, too.”

Her face morphs into realization and she stands. “So when we met, that was because you searched for me. You already knew me.”

“I promised you I’d find you.” He says, before he squints, spinning around quickly and typing into the computer. “In fact, we’re missing someone.”

He gets Caitlin, who’s an eye doctor apparently and then Patty pulls him into the hallway, demanding he tell her why he created this timeline. He sighs heavily, looking down. “Because my parents were both murdered. In this timeline, they’re alive. And so is your dad. He was dead, too.” Her face falls and she leans against the wall, mouth hanging open a little. “But it’s all okay now. I changed it.”

She waits a minute, taking it in until she speaks again. “Barry, I’m not a genius. I don’t know anything about what you’ve done or what timeline you come from, but there has to be consequences to playing God like this.”

He shakes his head immediately, raising three fingers. “I’ve been here three months, Patty. I’ve got my parents, I’ve got my dream girl standing right in front of me, my brother and sister are in the next room along with my two best friends. I can face the consequences as long as I have this.”

She frowns, looking up at him seriously. “We loved each other, didn’t we? I can feel it.”

He smiles. “In every universe.”

\--

He only realizes how much everyone’s been paying for his happiness when Wally’s stabbed and he loses all memory of being a speedster during the battle with The Rival. He gets it back at the last minute after a motivational speech from Iris, Patty and Cisco (which really is not this Cisco’s thing) and then watches Joe kneel over Wally, who’s lost too much blood. When Caitlin tells him so back at Star Labs, he knows he has to set things right. “You were right.” He tells Patty when they step outside the room Wally’s in. “These were the consequences. It’s not fair of me to ruin everyone else’s life just so I can have my parents back.”

“What are you gonna do?” She asks quietly.

“I have to reset the timeline. Will you help me?” He says, though he already knows her answer.

He goes to his parents house first, leading Patty through the front door by the hand, the ache in his heart getting worse when he sees his parents cozied up on the sofa. They stand when they notice him and he smiles, pulling Patty in front of him. “Uh, guys… this is Patty.”

“Oh, we’ve heard so much about you!” His mom says, bringing the girl in for a hug and it makes Barry tear up. At least he knows some version of his girlfriend got to meet his mom.

“Are you okay?” His dad asks, taking his reading glasses off and Barry nods.

“Yeah. I just wanted to see you both one last time.” He says, regretting it when he sees the worried looks on their faces. “These last three months have been the best. Getting to spend time with you… I want you to know how grateful I am to both of you, to be your son.”

Nora shakes her head. “Barry, you’re scaring me.”

“No, there’s…” He steps towards her immediately, encasing her in a hug. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. Promise.” He pulls back and his father wipes a tear from his cheek. “I just love you both.”

As he and Patty are walking down the steps of his house, he gets another pain in his head. “It’s getting worse.” He says. “We need to hurry up.”

When he takes her to Thawne’s cell, he grins sadistically when he sees them. Patty helps Barry sit down and squeezes his shoulder as the two talk, not understanding much of what’s going on. “You know what I need you to do.” Barry glares, as Thawne leans against the bars.

“I want you to say it.”

Barry looks up at him, eyes filled with fury and some sense of defeat. “I need you to kill my mother.”

“With pleasure.”

“I hate you.” Barry seethes.

He lets Thawne out and Patty helps him up again, biting her lip as they get ready to say goodbye. “Will I remember any of this?”

He shakes his head. “It’ll be like it never happened.”

She lets out a shaky breath and whispers, “In that case.” before leaning up to kiss him softly.

He nudges his nose with hers when they pull away and whispers back, “I’ll see you soon.”

\--

When he walks through the front door of the West house, it seems everyone else has cleared out and only Joe and Wally remain, both holding a beer and standing in the living room. Barry sighs in relief and pulls Wally into a hug immediately, saying “I’m glad you’re here.” before plopping on the couch.

“Are you okay, Bear?” Joe asks, frowning when he nods. “Your father just died, you don’t have to be okay right now.”

Barry shakes his head, leaning back into the pillows. “Actually, I feel closer to my parents than I ever have before.”

Joe smiles gratefully, “Good, son.” and hands him a beer which Barry takes and stands up, the three of them cheersing in honour of Henry.

“Hey, where’s Patty?” He asks after he’s taken a sip and the two men just look at him, confused.

“Did you invite her?” Joe asks, pointing with the hand that’s holding the beer.

“Yeah, I thought you two still weren’t speaking.” Wally says, confused.

Barry shakes his head, breathing out, “What? Why would we not be speaking?”

Wally raises his eyebrows, looking at him like he’s crazy. “Because you broke up with her.”

“Are you sure you’re okay, Bear?” Joe asks, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder but Barry just shakes his head, stepping backwards.

“I have to go.” is all he says before he flashes out of there, running all the way to Patty’s apartment, banging on the door, only for an elderly woman to open it. “Uh, sorry.” He stumbles over his words. “I’m looking for Patty Spivot.”

The woman snorts, says “Not funny.” and then slams the door in his face.

He runs a hand through his hair and then scrolls through his contacts on his phone to make sure Patty’s still there - which she is, with a photo of her as the contact that he’s never seen before - and finds her address, running over at stopping at the bottom of a sky high building in the uptown part of Central City. He’s waved over by the doorman and he shoves his hands into his pockets, starting to speak, though the man speaks for him. “Mr. Allen. It’s been a while.”

“Uh, yeah. I guess so.” He says, tilting his head to the side. “Um, is Patty…”

“Ms. Spivot is scheduled to be home in ten minutes. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you waited upstairs for her.” The doorman says, opening the front doors for him as Barry walks through awkwardly, stepping into the elevator. He’s lucky the man types in the correct number for him and then just before the doors close, he says, “Nice to see you again, Mr. Allen.”

He nods, giving him a weird wave and then the doors close, the elevator shooting up quickly and then once they open, he’s in some sort of penthouse, which must be Patty’s, he realizes. He steps inside, spinning around to look every which way, eventually deciding to sit on the expensive-looking sofa to wait for her. It’s exactly eleven minutes when the elevator doors open and Patty steps out, looking more annoyed than surprised to see him. “Barry Allen. To what do I owe the pleasure?” She says, slipping her heels off and carrying them further into the apartment.

She’s dressed a hell of a lot differently than she’s ever been, wearing a fancy lady suit and precise yet classy makeup. He shoots up from his seat and shoves his hands in his pockets again, blowing out some air through his lips before answering. “I just… really wanted to see you.”

She scoffs, rolling her eyes a little and says, “Fine. If you want to play it that way, I will chalk this little visit down to grief.” She signals for him to follow her and he’s led into the kitchen, where she sets her heels down beside the island and reaches into a beverage fridge. “I know you can’t get drunk, but you look like you need liquor. What do you want?”

He shakes his head quickly. “Uh, nothing. Thanks.”

She shrugs, pouring herself a glass of wine as he remains silent. She takes a sip and then sighs when she looks at him and his awkward stance. “Look, I was sorry to hear about your dad. And Cisco. That must be tough.”  
  


His eyes widen and he takes his hands out of his pockets, stepping forward urgently. “What about Cisco?”

Patty frowns. “Are you serious? He lost someone, too. I know you’re grieving, but you could at least send him a fruit basket or something.”  
  


Barry shakes his head frantically, leaning his hands on the counter. “No, no, no. Who did he lose?”

She stares at him incredulously, no doubt believing he’s a total asshole when she says, “His brother, Barry! How did _I_ know that and you didn’t?”

Barry’s eyes slip shut as he mutters, “What did I do?” to himself, Patty placing her wine glass down on the counter.

“Yeah, you might wanna check on your so-called ‘best friend’, Barry.” She says, in disbelief that he was so lost in his own grief, he didn’t care enough to be there for Cisco.

Barry looks up at her in a determined way, eyes serious. “How long ago did we break up?”

The statement annoys Patty and she shifts her body weight to one leg, hands on the counter like he knows she does when she’s angry. “We didn’t break up. _You_ broke up with _me_. There’s a difference.”

“Patty. Tell me.” He says sternly.

“Like three months ago, man!” She narrows her eyes. “What is wrong with you? Is this like, a Flash thing I don’t know about?”

“Why did I end things?” He asks and she scoffs loudly, taking a much larger sip of wine.

“You tell me, _buddy_ .” She says sarcastically. “One second, we’re saying ‘I love you’, you’re asking me to meet your dad, you’re telling me I’m a valued member of the team, and then the next, you’re telling me I’m _distracting_ and you can’t be the Flash and be in a relationship, no matter how much you _supposedly_ loved me.”

He blinks a few times, eyes filling with tears due to the stress as he shakes his head. “I made a mistake.” He says and he notices the look in her eye that tells him she’s about to yell, so he raises his hands to stop her. “Just listen for a second, okay? I ran back in time and I stopped the Reverse Flash from killing my mother.”

Her eyes widen and she almost drops her wine glass, instead placing it on the counter a little too loudly and taking a step back to lean against the fridge door as he continues. “I created an alternate timeline. I lived in it for months, but there were all these things that were wrong. Joe was an alcoholic and couldn’t stand me, Wally was a speedster and he died, Iris and I barely knew each other, and Cisco and Caitlin had never met each other or me before. So, I tried to reset the timeline. I let Thawne kill my mother and I came back here, but now there’s all these changes from the original timeline.”

Patty narrows her eyes, speaking softly, as if she’s afraid of the answer. “Like what?”

He runs his tongue over his teeth and stands up straight, playing with his fingers. “The last thing I remember before going to the past to save my mom, is you and me on the porch at Joe’s house, talking about how much we love each other and how we were gonna get married!” He brings a hand up to tug at his hair and shakes his head at her. “I didn’t break up with you, Patty. I would _never_ do that.”

Patty scoffs, blinking a few times before turning around, grabbing the bottle of wine and pouring even more in her glass wordlessly, as he continues. “And Dante, he’s not dead! Him and Cisco were just starting to patch up their relationship, they were fine.”

Patty’s mouth drops open. “ _You_ killed Dante?”

He lets out a shaky breath. “Patty, there’s no way of telling what other changes I’ve made. When’s the last time you saw the team?”

“Not since before you dumped me.” She says and he rounds the island to stand in front of her.

“Okay. Well, what were they going through back then? What did Iris talk about the last time you guys hung out?” He says, crossing his arms.

She raises her eyebrows at him, popping her hip. “Iris and I have never hung out.” He looks at her confused and she elaborates. “When we started dating, she introduced herself and then that was it. She went back to being your bitter and distant foster sister.”

“No, no.” He mumbles. “That’s not Iris.”

She rolls her eyes. “So I’ve been told.” She says, and then takes another sip of wine.

“No, I mean _that’s not Iris_. Not from my timeline. You two were friends, you got along immediately. You’d go out for lunch every Friday. She’s not bitter or distant, she’s warm and friendly.” He says exasperated, shaking his head before reaching into the fridge and pulling out a bottle of water, taking small sips to calm himself.

“You told me she used to be like that but this year, everything changed. Apparently, Joe told her that her mom died when she was really alive and Iris hasn’t forgiven him for it. They haven’t spoken since.” Patty clarifies, a little worried at how stressed out he looks.

“They don’t speak?” The thought breaks his heart. Patty looks at him for a second, frowning before she turns around and opens a drawer, pulling out a notepad and a pen, tossing them onto the counter.

“Okay, we’re doing this. Let’s keep track of everything we know that’s changed.” She says and starts writing.

He sighs, looking up to the ceiling. “Well, aside from everything we just mentioned, you definitely did not live here. How do you afford this place?”

She glares at him for a second before turning back to the paper. “That’s insulting.”

He stumbles over his words a little. “Uh, no. I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant… Did you get promoted or something? Are you Captain? Because a beat cop’s salary does _not_ cover this.”

“I’m not a cop, Barry.” She says, without looking up from the notepad.

“What? What are you?”

“I’m the CEO of my own company.” When he doesn’t respond, she looks up, raising her eyebrows. “ _Idol Youth_? It houses minors who live in abusive or low-income homes, gives them the resources they need to make it in the world? It’s a multi-billion dollar company, Barry!”

He shakes his head profusely. “No, nope. That has definitely changed. Good for you, though.” He says, smirking at the next part. “I guess we weren’t having our sleepovers at Joe’s, then.”

“No, we were not.” She giggles genuinely for the first time and then catches herself, glaring at him again. “Don’t be cute.” She threatens, and he raises his hands up in faux surrender.

“Sorry.” He mumbles. “I can’t believe you’re not a cop. I mean, you wanted so badly to catch your father’s k-” He stops himself before he can go any further, but it catches her attention and so he’s forced to continue. “Okay, this next question is gonna come off as super insensitive but I have to ask it: is your father dead?”

“No?” She says confused, getting up from leaning over the counter. “Should he be?”

“Yeah.” Barry cringes. “That’s the whole reason you became a cop. He was murdered and you wanted to bring him justice.”  
  


Patty shakes her head. “What the hell? Why would I do that? Why would I base my career off of my dad…” Her eyes widen a little and she scoffs, crossing her arms. “Wait a minute. Are you telling me that in this ‘other’ timeline, my dad _wasn’t_ a total piece of shit?”

Barry frowns, not being able to stop himself from reaching out and placing a hand on her arm. “Your dad’s alive, but you don’t get along?”

“ _Don’t get along?_ ” She says angrily. “He’s an abusive asshole! The second I turned eighteen, I got as far away from him as I could. That’s _why_ I moved to Central City.”

Barry rubs his hands over his face. “Patty, I’m so sorry.”

She waves him off, resting her elbows on the counter and leaning her head against it for a minute before she lifts it up again. “You need to tell the team. You need to tell them everything.”

First, he goes to Star City to see Felicity.

Then, he shows up at Patty’s apartment the next morning and flashes her to Star Labs, telling everyone to meet him there.

They all seem a little stunned when she walks in behind him, Wally and Joe exchanging a glance that probably has to do with the weird conversation they had with Barry the previous night. “Hey everyone.” Patty says. “I’d say ‘good to see you’ but after this conversation, your day _will_ be going downhill.”

“Thank you for that introduction.” Barry says sarcastically as she raises her hands in surrender, leaning against the desk as he steps into the center of the Cortex, facing the rest of them. “I have to tell you guys something. Something you’re not going to like, but I won’t keep it from you either.”

“Are you okay, Bear? Is this about last night?” Joe asks, Iris sending him a weird look like he shouldn’t know something she doesn’t.

“Sort of.” Barry responds, wringing his hands together, feeling himself getting emotional. “After Zoom killed my dead, after we defeated him, I was in an awful, broken headspace. And I made a split-second _terrible_ decision, to go back in time and save my mom.”

“Wait, so is she alive?” Wally asks, still new to the time-travelling speedster rules.

“She was.” Barry nods. “For a few months. I lived with her and my dad. And I had an entirely different life.”

“I don’t understand. You created a whole other existence. How is that possible?” Wally asks and Barry walks over to the glass board, creating the timeline diagram, explaining where the original is, where Flashpoint is, and where the one they’re living in now is.

“But you decided to leave this… _Flashpoint_ , as you say. Why?” Iris asks.

Barry sniffs, running a hand through his hair and glancing at Patty who just nods once, encouraging him to go on. “Because as great as it was, having my parents back, saving my mom affected other people’s lives and there were things there that were just _wrong_. Things I couldn’t fix. So, I travelled back in time again and I let Thawne kill my mom. I thought it would reset the timeline, but instead we’re living in a new one. It’s not as different as Flashpoint, but there are small things, monumental things that have changed for me and anyone around me. Things that even if I go back in time again and stop myself from making the initial decision to create Flashpoint, I can never reset. Ever.”

Wally seems to catch on before Joe does. “So, that thing last night, when you raced off to see Patty…”

Barry nods. “Before I left to create Flashpoint, Patty and I were still together. In love. Living together, actually. That’s why I was so confused. I returned to the exact moment I left, but she wasn’t there with you guys.”

Caitlin frowns, talking with her hands. “Wait, so you remember _three months_ of a relationship with her, that Patty has no recollection of?”

“Not just that.” Patty crosses her arms. “Apparently, I was a cop. We were partners, Detective West.”

Joe’s eyes widen. “Well damn, Patty.”

“There are things in this timeline that I will have no idea has changed, but there are some things we figured out last night, that I feel like you all deserve to know.” He turns to Joe and Iris, sniffing again. “For starters, you two got along fine. Iris, you forgave Joe a long time ago for Francine, and you two were closer than ever before I screwed it up. I’m so sorry.”

Iris blinks, looking straight at her dad and then back to Barry, a little astonished. He continues. “Another thing, Iris… you and Patty were super close. Best friends, even. Caitlin, too. You were all like family to each other, and I took that away, too. So, I’m sorry.”

The three girls exchange looks, Patty biting the inside of her cheek awkwardly, having never gotten to know either of the two and therefore uncertain of what their gazes mean. Barry continues talking, his voice going a little broken and more tears welling up in his eyes. “And the worst one… Cisco, in the other timeline, Dante was alive. I’m so, so sorry.”

The man goes tense, eyes going glossy as he shifts, standing up straight. “You’re saying that before you messed with time, my brother was alive?”

“Yes.” Barry says quietly, voice full of shame. Cisco doesn’t say anything else before walking out.

Joe lets out a breath. “This is a lot to take in, Bear.”

He sighs, nodding. “I know. Patty and I have put together a list of the things we’ve noticed so far that have changed, but you guys deserve the choice between knowing about your lives in Flashpoint or not. Whatever you choose, I’ll respect it.”

Everyone looks around, all a little closed off, though they nod. There’s a lot to think about.

Patty rises from the chair she’d sat in, pulling at her blazer. “Well, I should be getting to work.”

Barry nods. “I’ll take you.” He says, placing a hand on her back as they walk out, though he removes it shortly, realizing they’re not together anymore.

“That went well.” She says when they’re in the hallway.

“That went horribly.” He responds.

“I know, I just didn’t know what to say.” She says, actually sparking a laugh out of him.

He pauses for a second, just looking at her by his side, before speaking. “You’re different.”

She raises her eyebrows, though he can see the lightness in her features. “Bad different?”

“Not at all.” He shakes his head, thinking about how to word it. “I guess you just have different experiences. I mean your whole life’s changed. Different career, different father… Wait, is your mom still dead?”

“Yeah, died in childbirth.” She giggles.

“Good.” He says, and then catches himself. “I mean, not good. That’s not what I meant.”

She laughs again, shaking her head at him. “I know. Relax.”

When he’s flashed her to the front of her building so she can get her car, she thanks him sincerely and he knows if he has any shot at fixing what he broke with her, he’s got to go for it now. “Patty? Look, I know that the other version of me that I don’t remember, was kind of a dick to you. And you don’t owe me anything and I can’t take any of that back, but I was just hoping that maybe…”  
  


“If you’re gonna ask me on a date, Barry, please just do it already.” She cuts him off and he grins, her face looking more than willing to try something with him again, presumably because Flashpoint has sort of given them a redo.

“Patty Spivot,” He starts. “Will you go on a second first date with me?”

“Why not?” She says softly, turning around to go into her building, calling out behind her. “Just don’t show up blind!”

He chuckles, though his eyes widen and he stops her as she reaches the glass doors. “Wait, if you’re not a cop, how did we meet?”

She turns around, a small grin on her face. “You and Joe were working on a case that my dad was a suspect in. You took me in for questioning about his whereabouts. You said something like, even though we were talking about a murder, I’d turned your whole day around. It was a stupid line, one I’d never fall for from anyone else but… there was just something about you.”

Barry smiles, looking down at the ground bashfully for a second. “Well, I don’t remember saying that, but I know it was true.”

She smiles for a second, but it fades away as a thought comes into her head and she hesitates to voice it. “If we do this, you can’t leave again. I’ve been left my whole life, Barry. So, if you think you might, you should back out now.”

He shakes his head confidently. “Not a chance. I promised you once that I’d never leave you. I intend on keeping that.”

She nods once and then enters the building, the nice doorman speaking when she’s out of earshot. “Good work, Mr. Allen.”

He grins, practically skipping home.

\--

Apparently, he has a new friend. One he’s known for over a year. Julian Albert, Meta-Human CSI Specialist. Someone he now shares his lab with. Of all the changes Flashpoint has made, having a new friend isn’t the worst thing in the world. Especially, when he’s pretty sure he just lost one. 

He’s trying to give Cisco space, but everyday it gets harder to believe that he’ll ever get that friendship back, and Barry doesn’t blame him. Cisco’s still a part of the team, but Barry’s not really thinking he can take that as a good sign. Luckily, Julian catches him up to speed on the ‘husks’ they’ve been finding all over Central City and when they find the fifth one, the man who used to be The Rival makes himself known. 

When he appears at the same location their final battle was in during Flashpoint, Barry quickly becomes outnumbered when Clariss brings the person who supposedly gave him his powers, Alchemy. He’s losing miserably when Cisco shows up, using his vibe powers to defeat The Rival, though zero words are spoken to Barry after it’s over.

He remembers something Thawne has said to him back when he was captured. About time being their common enemy. As much as he hates to admit it, he was right. Time, time, time. Something that’s going achingly slow at the moment, even for a speedster.

\--

“What is up with you, mate?” Julian asks, when the day’s almost over and Barry’s bouncing his leg rapidly, staring at the clock.

“Oh.” He smiles. “I have a date.”

Julian leans back in his chair, clearly surprised. “Really? Have you finally gotten over Patty?”

Barry’s about to ask how he knows about that but stops himself, instead saying, “Actually, it’s with Patty. I was an idiot but apparently, I’m a lucky one because she decided to give me another chance.”

“Don’t muck it up.” Julian says, just as the little hand hits the 7pm mark. “See you tomorrow, Allen.”

When he arrives outside of Patty’s apartment building, waiting outside the doors, her doorman shakes his head as if he’s amused by the whole thing, grinning to himself. When his girlfriend (future-girlfriend?) walks through the front doors, she smiles at him a little shyly - which is something he hasn’t seen her do in a _long_ time - and picks up her floor-length dress with one of her hands, walking towards him.

  
“Have a nice evening, Ms. Spivot.” Her doorman says and she grins at him, patting his arm.

“You too, Martin. Thank you.”

When she reaches him, he grabs her hands and takes a step back to look her up and down. “Wow.” He breathes out. “How stupid was I?”

She hums, reaching up to lock her arms around his neck. “You mean, the _other_ you that never existed in the first place?”

“Still.” He says, his arms going around her waist as he pulls her closer to him. “I wanna slap him silly.”

She giggles, smile lighting up her entire face as she gazes up at him, and he wants to kiss her so badly. Instead, he flashes her to their destination, a rooftop picnic on a building overlooking the lake. They spend hours up there, most of which he spends trying to hold himself back from acting too comfortable, the way he would if nothing had ever changed between them because of Flashpoint, and she picks up on it. “It must be strange for you.” She says, biting into a strawberry. “Being around such a _different_ me. I kind of feel like I’m the one with memory loss.”

“It’s a little complicated, for sure.” He nods. “I just don’t want to make you uncomfortable or move too fast.”

“You’re not.” She says sincerely, smiling. “Weirdly, I feel like we never spent any time apart at all.”

He pauses, looking into her eyes and then leans closer to her a little bit, close enough that she can hear him whisper, “Can I kiss you?”

“Yes.” She whispers back, and he slowly lifts his hands up to cup her cheeks, positioning himself closely to her, and pressing his lips against hers. When he pulls away, he can’t contain his grin so he just takes a bite of a breadstick and tries to compose himself. “So, have you noticed anything else that’s changed?”

“Uh, there’s a new guy at work. Julian.” He says, wiping the crumbs off his hands.

She laughs a little. “Yeah, he’s not so new. You’ve known him longer than you’ve known me.”

He scoffs, chuckling. “So everyone keeps telling me. There is another guy, though. Martin. What’s his deal?”

She frowns, confused, shifting around so she’s facing him head on. “You don’t remember Martin?” He gives her a look that says ‘why would I?’ and she hums, pressing her lips together. “Long story short, when I moved to Central City, Martin was working as a part-time bartender, part-time bodyguard. I asked him for a job at the bar he worked at and he happened to live above it, and since I didn’t have anywhere else to go, he let me stay with him. We became good friends, I met his parents who ended up being the top investors in my startup, became like family with them and then when I had enough money to employ people and I actually needed a bodyguard, I asked Martin to be mine.”

Barry hums, nodding and she laughs at him, continuing. “He’s gonna be so upset with you. You guys are real buddies.”

“Aw.” Barry frowns as they go silent, looking out at the city lights.

“How are things with the team?” She asks after a moment, genuinely interested.

“Pretty terrible.” He replies, pulling his knees up to his chest. “This new speedster? He was who we were fighting in Flashpoint. The guy who killed Wally. There’s no dark matter in his system either which means he didn’t get his powers from the particle accelerator. He says he got them from someone called Alchemy and we’ve kinda got the feeling that this guy’s going to try and give everyone powers who had them in Flashpoint.”

“As eager as I am to learn about your day, I wasn’t asking about the next big bad. I was asking about the _team_.” She raises her eyebrows at him, smirking because she knows he doesn’t want to talk about it.

He lets out a breath, pauses and then speaks. “Well, they haven’t really given me an answer as to whether or not they want to know about the other timelines. They don’t seem too mad, except for Cisco. Who totally hates me now, by the way.”

“I have faith that won’t be forever.” She says confidently, and he tilts his head to the side in question. “You guys are superheroes. With how chaotic and dangerous your lives are, being angry with the people you care about is a waste of time. And he _does_ care about you. The important thing is that you didn’t do this on purpose. Sooner or later, something big will happen and he’ll be forced to admit that even despite your mistakes, having you in his life as his best friend is better than just seeing you around Star Labs.”

“I hope you’re right.” He admits quietly, and she grins.

“I am.”

He gets a text from Joe towards the end of their night, asking him to meet the team at Star Labs and he brings Patty, stopping them in the hallway that leads to the Cortex so she can fix her dress, grabbing his hand as he leads her inside, heels clacking loudly. The team is gathered around the computer setup, Cisco and Caitlin in their usual chairs, with Wally off to the side, as Joe and Iris stand on the opposite side of them, considerably closer than they have been since this new timeline was created. They look up when they hear the two come in, Caitlin smiling at Patty and saying, “You look pretty.”

“Thank you.” She says, somewhat bashfully as she waves to everyone else.

“Sorry for pulling you away from your date.” Iris says, somewhat awkwardly.

She brushes it off with a wave of her hand, shrugging her shoulders. “Don’t worry about it. It was boring anyway.” She jokes, earning her a look from Barry. “Kidding.”

Joe takes a deep breath, looking around to the team before he speaks, crossing his arms. “Well, we don’t know what your stance is, Patty, but we’ve decided that we don’t want to know anything else about the other timelines.”

Barry’s more than surprised with that answer, frowning as he stares at all of their faces, each one of his friends seeming to be in agreement. “Are you sure?”

Iris nods, walking over to her dad, who wraps an arm around her shoulders, warming Barry’s heart. “We're a family here, and sometimes families get mad at each other for screwing up and that’s okay. But they also forgive.”

“Especially, when they know the intention behind said mistake wasn’t cruel. That’s why we think it’s best we don’t know what we may have had or not had before. What matters is what we have now and where we go from here.” Caitlin adds, looking right at Barry with a warm, friendly smile on her face.

“Besides,” Cisco starts, speaking for the first time. “Like a wise old Wells once said, ‘What’s the point, Allen?’”

Barry let out a laugh, nodding. “Okay. It’s settled, then.” He turns to Patty. “What about you?”

She squints at him. “Well, you’ve already told me everything, right?”

“Mostly.” He says suspiciously, earning a small smile from her.

“So,” Wally smirks, “Are you two back together?” Iris hits him lightly with her purse, hissing his name as if that’s a rude question and he just signals towards them with his hand. “What? Look at them!”

She smiles up at Barry, a twinkle in her eye as she says, “Well, apparently we were never apart.”

He winks down at her and smiles as Joe speaks. “Well, we’ve definitely missed you at the house.” He pulls Iris in tighter. “And you, too.”

Iris nods. “Yeah. What do you guys say to having a weekly family dinner with all of us? I mean, _all_ of us, Cisco.”

Cisco just nods. “I’m down. Barry, can I talk to you for a minute?”

A jolt of anxiety goes up Barry’s spine but he remains cool, nodding and following Cisco out, as Iris tells Patty, “That _is_ a gorgeous dress.”

When they reach Cisco’s workshop, he picks up a random tool, fiddling with it and leans against a table, looking towards Barry. “Look, I’m still really angry. And it’s hard for me to tell who I’m angry at right now but I think that mostly, I’m angry at myself. Iris made me realize that you didn’t kill my brother. He could’ve died the same way in the other timeline, maybe it just would’ve happened later or something. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life holding this against you, but I’m still grieving. So hopefully, when this becomes a little bit easier, things will get easier between me and you, too.”

“I’m okay with that.” Barry nods, smiling slightly. “I’m here if you need me. I promise.”

“I know that.” He says sincerely, reaching a hand out for Barry to shake, and he does. Just as they touch, the floors start to rumble and alarms start blaring, both of their eyes widening as Cisco says, “That’s coming from the breach room.”

He grabs a random gun off the table and then Barry flashes him there, the rest of the team appearing seconds later as a blue glare shines through the room, the beginning formations of a breach starting to open up. Joe brings his gun up and stands beside Cisco, aiming it towards the breach as Caitlin types into the computer system, soon declaring, “I can’t close it.”

“You guys need way better security.” Patty mutters, though she sounds a little out of breath and nervous. Iris raises a hand for a high five.

“That’s what I’ve been saying.” She says as Patty slaps their hands together, both of them staying up on the top platform with Caitlin and Wally as Cisco, Joe and Barry remain at the bottom ready to face the threat.

“Somebody’s coming through!” Wally says as Joe tells them all to get back.

In less than five seconds, Harry Wells jumps through the breach, duffel bag over his shoulder and a stressed out look on his face. He raises his hands in surrender, breathing out, “Allen. I need your help.”

“With what?” He responds, just as a speedster with yellow lightning comes through the breach, running sporadically around the room until they finally come to a stop, revealing Jesse.

“That.” Harry says, pointing to his daughter. 

“Jesse? You’re a speedster?” Wally asks in astonishment, with a hint of jealousy.

“Yeah. Pretty cool, right?” She says excitedly, practically bouncing on her feet with energy.

Patty leans in towards Iris, nudging her. “Who’s Jesse?”

“Oh, she’s Harry’s kid.” Iris responds, not at all fazed by the question, though Wells definitely takes notice.

Patty smiles happily, looking at him. “Oh, you found her?”

Harry’s features harden as he turns to look at Barry, pointing towards Patty. “What is this?”

Barry cringes, certain he’s about to get yelled at. “It’s complicated.”

“No, it’s not.” Harry says sternly. “You time-travelled again, didn’t you? How many times have I told you not to do that?”

Iris crosses her arms, tilting her head to the side. “Well, you figured that out pretty quickly.”

“Yes, Miss West, because Patty and my daughter have met before.” He says, still staring coldly at Barry.

“Different earths, different timelines.” Joe realizes as Jesse steps forward, confused.

“Wait… so she doesn’t remember me? Like, at all?”

Patty shrugs. “Sorry, kid. Never met you.”

“Why is that, Allen?” Harry asks, trying to get caught up to speed.

Barry sighs frustratedly, hands on his hips. “Because I broke up with Patty sometime before we went to Earth-2.”

“Dick.” Jesse mutters under her breath accidentally, though Barry just shrugs his shoulders like he agrees with her. “Anyways, we _are_ here for a reason.”

“Yes, we are.” Harry agrees, starting to explain. “So, when I got Allen his speed back, Jesse and Wally were hit with the dark matter. Turns out she was affected. She was totally affected.”

“But I was hit and I don’t have speed.” Wally interrupts. “Could it have been from something else?”

“No.” Harry starts to say and then corrects himself. “I mean, I doubt it. Dark matter affects different people in different ways at different times - sometimes not at all, so be thankful. Anyways, she was affected and I want to run some tests to find out just how much.”

“Well, then you’ve come to the right place.” Caitlin smiles. “Let’s go to the Speed Lab.”

“Speed Lab?” Barry, Jesse and Harry say together.

The Speed Lab turns out to be an amazing room with a track built around it that helps analyze speedsters and Barry’s literally blown away when they walk in. “This is insane.”

“Something tells me you’ve never been in this room before.” Cisco snorts and Barry just shakes his head, assuming this was built by Thawne to make Barry faster when he originally wanted to steal his speed to get back to his time.

“Oh, awesome.” Harry says sarcastically. “Another thing that’s been changed by your time-travelling adventure. We’ve never been here either.”

“Harry,” Barry says, annoyed. “Look, only a couple other things are different.”

“Oh, I’m sure.” He says, before deadpanning. “Not.”

Cisco laughs. “Oh, for real? Earth-2 is doing _not_ now?”

“Nope. That’s all him.” Jesse clarifies.

“Okay, let’s just get you on the track and see what we can find out.” Caitlin says as Jesse takes her jacket off, tossing it on the steps and running up the ramp and through the circular glass track. 

Joe lets out a surprised laugh. “Damn, Jesse. She really can move.” Wally shifts a little, making an excuse to leave and Iris gives them a look, following him out. “Do I gotta worry about him suddenly getting speed?” Joe asks Barry, who shrugs.

“I really hope not.” He says, stepping up to where Caitlin’s looking at the monitors. “What’s it looking like?”

“She’s faster than you were when you first got your speed.” Caitlin smirks and he frowns a little, even though that’s a good thing for Jesse. He pats Caitlin’s shoulder and then walks over to Patty, slipping an arm around her waist, his other hand in his pocket.

“Ready to go?” He asks, but before she can respond, Joe calls out to him, looking at a text on his phone.

“Sorry, Bear. We just caught a case.”

He frowns, though Patty doesn’t seem too bothered. “Come back to my place later?” She asks and he nods, bending his head down to kiss her. “Be nice to Martin.” She says, laughing when he rolls his eyes playfully and then he flashes her out of there. 

\--

When Barry arrives at her place, it’s past two in the morning and she’s dozing on her sofa. She originally intended to wait up for him, but she was on calls from the second she got home so it tired her out. The ding of the elevator wakes her up and she knows it must be him, so she just snuggles into her blanket more and waits for him to walk over to her, planting a kiss on her cheek. Because of the way he’s been with her since he showed up to her apartment after three months, even if she had no proof that they’d been together before Flashpoint, the easy, domestic flow he has with her would be enough to convince her of that much, and while that other life shouldn’t mean anything, knowing that was real for him only makes it easier to fall back into the way they used to be - the way only he remembers it being. “Sorry I’m so late.” He says and she hums, twisting around on the couch.

“It’s okay.” She says, voice laced with sleep. “Tom Hanks kept me company.”

He glances towards the TV, halfway through ‘Big’ and reaches a hand down towards her to pull her up. “Well, he couldn’t have been that great of a date if you’re falling asleep on him.” She laughs lightly, letting him pull her up and not bothering to bring the blanket with her. “Now, I’m gonna be honest with you, I don’t know where the bedroom is.”

She laughs again, louder this time and shoves at him a little. “Of course, you don’t.”

She waves a hand, signalling for him to follow her and takes him up the main twisty stairs, stopping at the end of the upstairs hall and twisting the door handle open, telling him to shut it behind them. He does, watching as she kicks her slippers off and peels back the covers, climbing into her side of the bed (it’s nice to know that hasn’t changed). “There’s some clothes I never gave back to you in the closet.” She points towards a door and he’s in and out in a second, dressed in some of his old pjs and climbing in beside her, pulling her close.

He’s gone when she wakes up in the morning, but there’s a ghost of a kiss on her cheek.

\--

When she strolls into CCPD that morning, Mr. Thompson beside her, Singh exits the bullpen to greet her, extending his hand for her to shake. “Ms. Spivot. I didn’t realize our witness was one of yours.”

“She wasn’t until last night. Detective Knowles placed her in one of my buildings.” She places a hand on Thompson’s shoulder, gesturing to Singh. “This is Mr. Thompson with our Youth Division. He’ll be representing Frankie. He’s a good friend, so I thought I’d formally introduce you two.”

“It’s a pleasure, Captain.” Mr. Thompson says, extending his hand for Singh to shake, which he does gratefully.

“All mine.” He says, turning to Patty again. “I assume you won’t be sticking around.”

He’s clearly referring to the breakup between Barry and her. “Actually, Barry and I are back together again, but I can’t stay. I have work to do elsewhere.”

“Oh, good for you.” He smiles genuinely. “We’ll have to get coffee sometime.”

“Love to.” She says, smiling as she notices Barry come down the stairs with a confused look on his face. She pats Mr. Thompson on the shoulder again and says goodbye, meeting her boyfriend at the bottom of the stairs. “Hi.”

“Hi.” He smiles, still a little confused as he kisses her on the cheek, to-go coffee from Jitters in hand. “What are you doing here?”

“The girl from your case was placed with us last night. I was just bringing over her Youth Lawyer.” She says, and he hums, clearly happy to see her. “Why are you so happy? You saw me this morning.”

“I know.” He says lightly, shaking his head and grabbing her hand discreetly. “It was just weird being at work yesterday without you being here with me.”

She smiles at his sweetness, tilting her head. “Well, don’t get too used to it. I don’t actually work here. I was just introducing Singh to Thompson.”

Her phone rings in the pocket of her blazer and he hums, knowing she has to go. “See you tonight?”

She nods, already bringing the phone up to her ear and turns, Barry holding onto her hand until the last possible second. She waves towards Joe as she passes by him, stepping into the elevator and trying not to blush too hard when she notices Barry watching her go.

\--

“I just got off the phone with Thompson, where the hell is Frankie?” She asks as she strolls into Star Labs, the rest of the team gathered in the Cortex.

Barry sighs, still in his suit with his arms crossed over him. “Frankie is a meta-human who tried to kill Julian today.”

“Yeah, I know.” She holds up her phone to tell them Thompson told her that much. “She’s also a fourteen year old girl with BPD, which Julian triggered when he decided to accost her in the foyer. Next time I see him, I might just finish the job.”

Joe snaps his fingers, pointing to Patty. “That actually makes sense. The girl who tried to kill Julian cannot be the same sweet, kind girl I talked to in the office.”

“Wait, BPD is treatable.” Caitlin says.

“Only if you have the correct resources.” Patty clarifies. “She’s been bounced around from home to home, but she’s in the privatized system. They don’t care where she’s placed because they get paid based on how many kids they house. Most of these foster parents only take the kids for the monthly cheques and then spend it on something other than the kid they took in.”

Cisco frowns. “Is that even legal?”

“Grey area.” Both Patty and Joe say at the same time, Patty continuing on after they exchange a weird look. “Lucky for you guys, after a _thrilling_ conversation with her asshole caseworker, I got her file.”

She taps into her phone, the computer dinging and Cisco presses a button before Frankie Kane’s digitized file appears on the screen. “How’d you manage to do that?” Barry asks.

“Told him my boyfriend would beat him up.” Patty responds, sticking her tongue out at him slightly when no one’s looking, too busy with the monitors.

“Woah, guys. Her current foster father, John - the one who was hurt in the attack - he’s got a few disorderly conducts.” Iris says, using the mouse to enlarge that part of her file.

Patty crosses her arms, stepping forward. “Oh my god, John James. I know him, he’s fostered kids before but he got his license taken away three years ago. He should’ve never been able to do it again.”

“Again, how is that legal?” Cisco groans.

“I’ll get in contact with some colleagues and then follow up with him at the hospital.” Patty says, turning to Iris. “You wanna come with me? I could use a journalist’s brain.”

Iris nods. “Absolutely.”

“Guys, there’s something else.” Barry says, looking on edge. “She got her powers from Alechemy. When I said his name, she knew who he was, so Magenta must’ve had powers in the other timeline, too.”

“Who’s Alchemy?” Harry asks.

Cisco hums, knowing he’s not going to like the answer. “Well, Doctor Alchemy is a magic man in a cloak who can somehow restore the powers that people had in Flashpoint.”

“And what’s Flashpoint?” Jesse asks, leaning against the computer setup.

Caitlin jumps in to answer. “That’s what we’re calling the alternate timeline Barry created when he went back in time and saved his mom.”

“Oh. So, Magenta is another side effect from your time trip. Genius. Not.” Harry says sarcastically, which just pisses Barry off.

“I don’t need a reminder, thank you.”

Patty taps Iris on the shoulder, signalling for them to get out of there and fast, to which Iris immediately rises, grabbing her purse and following her out. “Mind if I drive?”

“Not at all.” Patty responds.

On the way there, Patty makes some calls to figure out how it was possible that John was able to foster another child and makes sure that when they do get Frankie back, she’s able to get the help she needs from a specialist. When she’s done and they’re just pulling into the parking lot of the hospital, Iris speaks up. “Hey, so I know that we all agreed that the other timeline doesn’t really matter anymore, but Barry told me that we were friends in it.”

“Yeah, he told me that, too.” Patty says, shutting the passenger door and retrieving her to-go coffee from the top of Iris’ car. 

“Right. So, I know because of the whole thing with my dad, I haven’t really been around as much as I probably would’ve been otherwise… So, I don’t know. I just wanted to say that if you ever want to get coffee, or hangout, or…”

Patty smiles, nodding as she replies. “Love to. We were friends in the other timeline. There’s no reason why we can’t be friends in this one, right?”

“Agree!” Iris says enthusiastically as they enter the hospital, finding John James’ floor and room in no time and stepping inside cautiously. “John James?”

“Who’s asking?” He croaks, recognition flickering in his eyes when he notices Patty behind Iris. “Oh, it’s you.”

“I’m Iris West. I wanted to ask you a couple questions about Frankie Kane.” Iris says, stepping closer.

The man laughs dryly. “They find her yet?”

“I don’t believe so, no.” Iris responds.

“What the hell is taking so long?” He spits. “The bitch tried to kill me.”  
  


Patty rolls her eyes. “She’s fourteen, John. She probably doesn’t even know what that word means.”

He scoffs, shrugging his shoulders, though it looks like it hurts. “This is what I get for taking that freak in, huh? God help me if I ever see her again.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Iris asks, crossing her arms.

He laughs again, looking smug. “It means she’ll be the one in a hospital bed.”

Both girls look at each other in realization. “We need to get him out of here.” Patty says, running to the door and calling on a nurse. When the nurse arrives, she says, “We need to get this man to a safe location.”

Before the nurse can ask why, there’s a loud sound from outside and Iris, with no hesitation, pulls out her phone and presses the panic button. They get John into a wheelchair as the alarms go off throughout the building, signalling an evacuation and they wheel him down the hall, only to be stopped at the front doors of the hospital, which physically won’t open. Both girls notice Magenta outside, arms raised in the air as she floats something on top of the building, though they can’t tell what. Iris pulls out her phone and calls Cisco so that he can fill her in. “It’s a tanker.” She whispers in Patty’s ear.

“What, like the boat?” Patty whisper-yells, to which Iris just shrugs, still listening to Cisco over the phone.

They stand there for maybe twenty minutes until the Flash appears in front of Magenta, talking her down. Eventually, the boat returns to its rightful position by the dock and Frankie falls into Barry’s arms, the doors in front of the girls finally able to open. Patty makes her way over, Iris staying with John and when she arrives, she leans down to reach Frankie’s height. “Frankie?” She asks. “We met last night, remember? I’m-”

“Miss Patty.” Frankie says, cutting her off and throwing herself into her arms. Patty sighs in relief, wrapping her arms around the kid and looking up at Barry.

“Thanks, Flash.” She says, squeezing Frankie tighter as she comforts her.

When they get back to Star Labs, they sit Frankie down in a chair and Patty kneels down in front of her, holding her hands. “So, no one else got hurt?” She asks.

“Luckily, no.” Caitlin assures. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

“What about John?” She asks.

“The DA’s prosecuting him for what he did to you.” Joe replies, nodding soothingly. “He’ll be serving time and he’ll never foster another child again.”

Patty smiles, tugging at their intertwined hands. “As for you, I’ve got a room set up for you at a home with a bunch of other girls just like you, trying to find their way to something better. It’s in Central, so I’ll be coming by to see you a lot. You’ll never go to another home like John’s again.”

Frankie lets a small smile spread across her face, nodding gratefully. “It’s just so strange being responsible for all of this and not remembering any of it.”

“What _do_ you remember?” Barry asks, still in his Flash suit with the mask on. “About how you got your powers? How this all began?”

She explains the dreams, Alchemy and how painful these memories of another life were. “What do I do if Magenta comes back?” She asks, finally.

“Fight her.” Barry says simply.

Patty nods along. “I know a few people who specialize in what you’re struggling with and they’ve worked wonders on some of the kids I know - made them feel _in control_ of both sides of them. They can do that for you, too.”

“And if you feel discouraged,” Barry adds. “You can come to us.”

She smiles, thanking them and Patty helps her up, swinging an arm around her shoulders and waving to the team as she leads the young girl out and down to her car, driving her to the home and talking with the supervisors, making sure they’re up to date and Frankie will be getting everything she needs. She stays for a few hours, helping her get settled in, meet some of the other girls, give her a tour and a schedule, and then heads back to her apartment.

When she gets there, Barry’s in her living room, lying on the sofa with one arm behind his head, ‘Turner & Hooch’ playing on the TV at low volume. She kicks her pumps off, picking them up by the heels and then placing them beside the coffee table, returning the warm smile he gives her as she sits down on the couch, just by where his hip lies. “Are we on a Tom Hanks kick?”

“I’m always on a Tom Hanks kick.” He jokes, running a hand up and down her arm. “I hope you don’t mind that I’m here. Martin let me up.”

“Even if I did mind, he’d still let you up.” She smiles, tilting her head to the side and staring at him adoringly.

He chuckles a little. “How’d it go with Frankie?”

“Good. She’s settled. She has her first therapy session tomorrow, so I hope it goes well. She’s a sweet kid.” He nods in agreement and she continues. “What did you do while I was gone?”

He huffs loudly. “Uh, you know Edward Clariss?” He asks, only continuing once she nods. “He died in his cell three days ago. Joe showed me the security footage. He was flung around like a ragdoll by some invisible force, dead before he hit the ground.”

“Shit.” She mutters in surprise. “You think this was Alchemy?”

“That’s the last thing Clariss said before he died.” He says and she frowns, shifting so she’s lying on top of him, his hands resting on the small of her back as she raises her eyebrows for him to continue. “I’m just getting really sick of all the bad things that are happening because of some stupid split-second decision I made.”

She brings a hand up and cards it through his hair. “Well, they’re not all bad. Speed Lab’s cool, panic button’s cool, we’re back together…”

“I know, but even that’s different.” He argues, sighing in defeat. “There’s so much about you that I don’t know now. Plus, we missed out on three months together. There are all these moments that I cherish, that you don’t even know happened.”

“So, we’ll make more moments.” She says, simply. “You’ll learn the things about me that you don’t know. I’ll… catch you up to speed.”

He gives her a look and she grins widely, continuing. “I know, bad joke. How about this? We’ll have date night twice a week and on that night, you can ask me any and everything that you want to know and we’ll make up for the three months I don’t remember.”

He pauses for a moment and then relents, nodding his head. “Okay. It’s just so weird now. Before, I always knew we were on the same page and now, I’m scared of going too fast with you because I feel like we’ve been together for ten months and you feel like we’ve been together for seven.”

“Speed has always been your problem.” She laughs. “The good thing is, we already said our ‘I love yous’ so it’s not like you’re gonna scare me away. Besides, you were practically living here before you shattered my heart into pieces anyway.”

He jolts her a little, pretending to be angry, though he can’t keep the grin off his face. “Will you stop referring to it as that? You’re the worst.”

She just giggles loudly, leaning up to brush their noses together. “You love me.”

He hums, cupping her cheek with his hand. “I do love you.” He says softly, kissing her once. “So much.”

He kisses her again, pulling her as close as he possibly can and he marks a third thing down on his mental list of good things Flashpoint has given him: this couch.

\--

Iris approaches both Patty and Barry at Star Labs and invites them to an impromptu movie night at her dad’s while they’re waiting for Mirror Master and Top to show up, and for Caitlin, Cisco and Harry to find a Harrison Wells to replace the one they currently have when he and Jesse go back to Earth-2. 

Wally and Jesse sit on the floor in front of them, Barry on one end of the couch with his arms around Patty, Iris on the other end and Joe in his chair, until they get a text from Singh about a bank robbery involving suspects that match Mirror Master and Top’s descriptions, and then Barry’s gone in an instant.

Iris gazes at Patty, unable to hold in her laughter as she says, “I’m guessing you need a ride.”

Patty smacks her hands on her knees and she gets up. “He’s always leaving me places!”

\--

When Cisco, Harry and Joe reach Barry’s location and Jesse’s out of her vertigo, they haul Barry - who’s stuck inside a mirror - back to the Speed Lab and figure out how to talk to him through it before everyone departs, the geniuses working on a way to get the mirror cold enough so that he can phase through, Wally talking Jesse down and the Wests not-so-subtly leaving Patty to keep her boyfriend company.

“Listen, I’m sorry I’ve been so… _stuck_ . No pun intended.” He says through the mirror. “I’ve been on a downer since Flashpoint, and all these things are going wrong because of me, and the last thing I want is for _us_ to go wrong. So, I’ve been hyper-fixating on every little thing, trying to watch what I say out of fear.”

Patty chuckles to herself, leaning against the mirror. “Baby, what you need is to relax. Stop thinking so hard about our relationship and just… be in it. I promise you, if you do that, we’ll both get to the place we want to be in no time and the other timelines won’t even matter anymore.”

He hums in agreement as everyone rushes back in, Cisco and Harry attaching something to the mirror as Caitlin goes over to the monitors, everyone standing back as they try and freeze the mirror. It’s not getting cold enough and as they’re thinking, the meta-human alarm goes off and everyone flees the Speed Lab except for Patty and Caitlin. Cait steps down off the platform and moves to stand beside Patty, wringing her hands together. “If I do this, you two can’t tell a single soul.” She says, confusing the hell out of the both of them, but she cuts them off as they start to ask what she means. “Promise me.”  
  


They both agree and Caitlin steps towards the mirror, raising her hands up as frost starts to come out of them, icing the mirror to a low enough temperature that Barry can phase through. When he does, he gives Caitlin a look but she just points at him and says, “Not a word.” before leaving the Speed Lab, meeting everyone in the Cortex, Barry speeding Patty there.

He brushes them off when they ask how he got out, instead explaining his plan to catch Mirror Master and Top, and then he and Jesse are off, the rest of the team listening through comms as they defeat the meta-villain duo.

The next day, after they’re put away in modified cells in Iron Heights and Barry’s witnessed a more than awkward moment between Joe and Cecile, he heads over to Patty’s for their previously scheduled date night, grateful that they didn’t have to pull a raincheck due to his double life. 

The elevator doors slide open and when he steps further into the apartment, he sees her sitting on top of the kitchen counter, wine glass in hand, scrolling through her phone. He throws his jacket down on an ottoman, his keys rustling a bit inside the pocket and she looks up at the sound, grinning wide when her eyes land on him. “Hey! With Martin letting you up here all the time, it’s almost as if you have a key.”

He snorts out a laugh and places his hands on the counter on either side of her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “You were right. That guy loves me.”

“He’s not the only one.” She says sweetly, accepting the kiss he gives her and placing her wine glass down, hopping off the counter and rounding the island, pulling open a drawer and reaching inside. “Speaking of keys, do you want one?” She holds out a single jagged key, meant to go in the lock inside the elevator that stops strangers from having access to the apartments, and smiles, starting to ramble. “I was thinking about asking Cisco to upgrade security since, you know, people are always trying to kill you, so the key would only be temporary, but I still thought it was kinda romantic.”

He smiles, a little uncertain as he takes it out of her hands. “Are you sure? Even with how weird I’ve been?”

“Yeah, I am.” She says softly. “I love you, and I trust you. I even loved you in two other timelines, so there is no doubt in my mind that you and I are gonna work out for the better. Besides, why are we suddenly creating rules for how fast or slow you have to go in a relationship? There shouldn’t be any rules.”

He nods slowly, his small smile growing into a grin as he grabs her face, pulling her in for a long kiss. “I’ll be back.” He whispers.

He flashes to Joe’s house, packing all of his stuff into suitcases and then brings them downstairs, stopping in front of the dining table as both Joe and Iris look up at him with surprised expressions on their faces. “Um, so I’m moving in with Patty.”

“Really?” Iris asks, and he nods, a little out of breath from running around upstairs.

“Yeah, what do you think?”

“I say yes.” She replies.

Joe chimes in, shaking his head. “God, I thought you’d never leave.”

“Seriously?” Barry says, a little offended as Iris lets out an astonished, “Dad!”

Joe immediately starts to defend himself. “Look, Bear. I’m gonna miss you, but you’re grown! It’s about time!”

Barry frowns, crossing his arms. “Oh, I can’t tell if I’m leaving or if you’re kicking me out.”

Iris laughs loudly, pointing to him. “That was a kicking out, definitely.”

“You’re grown!” Joe repeats, grinning wide.

When he gets back to Patty’s, he sets the suitcases down by the ottoman and comes out of Flashtime, announcing, “Done!” She may not have the memories he does, but he can still give her a similar one, at least in this particular situation. She grins up at him, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck and pulls him down for another kiss before turning and taking a sip of her wine. “So, date night. You wanted to plan it, so…?” He says, and she claps her hands together excitedly.

“I thought we could make dinner together.”

“Yeah!” He says happily, rolling his sleeves up and going to wash his hands in the sink. “What do you need me to do?”

She smiles, picking up the recipe that she’d left out on the counter and moving to stand beside him as he dries his hands. “Well, it’s called Scotch Pie. Christian taught me how to make it when I was nineteen.”

“That’s Martin’s dad, right?” He catches on, smiling proudly when she nods.

“Yeah. I used to love it so much. Can you be on veggie duty?”

“Veggies, I can do.” He says, moving around her naturally to open the freezer, listening intently as she explains what they have to do, occasionally adding in little stories here in there of Christian and Lorraine, and all the nights she’d spend at theirs when she was starting up the company and they’d make her favourite dinners, having the home-cooked meals she’d never had growing up. She giggles loudly when he flicks water onto her and scrunches her nose when he leans over to kiss her cheek one too many times, always narrowing her eyes at him as she tells him to pay attention. Later, he wastes no time littering _their_ apartment with his stuff and fastening the key onto his set, attaching a few pictures of the team onto the fridge and setting one of Joe, him and Iris in their bedroom, the one of him and his parents in the living area.

When he meets her in bed, she’s staring at the photo of the Wests and him, picking at the fresh polish on her fingernails with a thoughtful look on her face. “What is it?” He asks as he’s climbing into bed, nestling himself under the covers and on his side, placing an arm over her.

She hums, glancing at him quickly before turning her head back to the photo. “We should have everyone over.” She says. “Like a housewarming party.”

“Okay.” He agrees, rubbing his thumb over the inside of her wrist.

“I’ve never done this before, you know.” She says after a moment, so quiet he barely hears it.

“What’s that?” He breathes out. “A housewarming party?”

She smiles. “Well, that. And… _family_. That whole thing. I’ve been alone my whole life.”

“Not anymore.” Is all he whispers, pulling her closer and focusing on the sound of her breathing, waiting until she drifts off before he allows himself to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter: savitar!!


	7. A Housewarming Invasion!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A housewarming party, an alien invasion, and Caitlin struggles with her powers, though she's not the only one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> our superfriends are in this one!! also you might be able to tell from this chapter that i'm an olicity stan (even though they're broken up in season five, sorry :I)
> 
> enjoy <3

When Caitlin asks her to come with her to see her mother at her lab, Patty’s more than a little surprised. She assumes it’s likely because Patty and Barry are the only ones that know about Caitlin’s weird frost powers and it’s not like Barry can take a couple days off. Luckily, Patty’s not needed urgently at work this week so she comes along happily, sticking by Caitlin as they walk into Tannhauser Industries.

The relationship she picks up on between Caitlin and her mother is icy - no pun intended - and Patty can’t help but feel like she can relate to Caitlin a little more now. She avoids talking to her parent at all costs, too. 

“Can I ask you something?” She says, when Caitlin’s decided she’s not going to get what she wanted so desperately from her mother.

“Shoot.”

Patty smacks her lips together, thinking of the right way to word it. “Why are you so afraid of these powers?” She asks, before quickly explaining her reasoning. “I mean, other than the obvious. Is there not a tiny part of you that believes these powers could be a good thing?”

“No, there’s not.” She replies, without hesitation. “They’re uncontrollable. The frost spreads rapidly and I can’t stop it. I could get someone killed.”

Patty nods, crossing her arms as Caitlin pulls her coat on. “Okay, I understand that. But, don’t you think that might just be because you haven’t trained with them? I mean, Barry told me what it was like when he first got his. He was running into things all over the place. But, he used those powers for good with help from you and Cisco, and even Thawne.”

“Patty, you don’t understand.” Caitlin says, exasperated as she clutches her purse tighter. “On Earth-2, I was _Killer Frost_. I was an evil meta-villain with these exact same powers.”

“Yeah, and apparently there’s a timeline where Joe’s an alcoholic who couldn’t care less about his kids.” Patty argues, stepping forward to grab Caitlin’s hand. “That’s not who he is, and that’s not who you are. Having powers doesn’t make you evil, it’s how you use them. So, choose to use them for good. Choose to _understand_ them and trust them. _Trust yourself._ ”

Caitlin huffs, shaking her head. “I’m not sure it’s that easy. And if I make a mistake with them… there’s no telling the consequences that’ll have.”

The doors open just then, Nigel stepping through as he proceeds to try to persuade them into staying. When they start to walk out, he uses the button on his clicker to seal the doors, trapping them inside. “You’re not going anywhere until I get what I need.” He seethes, both girls backing up slowly.

“I’m not gonna let you test me.” Caitlin says, her arms slowly raising as bits of frost shoot out, hitting his hand and sending him to the floor, her eyes glowing white. Even though Nigel’s incapacitated, she still stands overhim, hands outstretched.

Patty steps forward, speaking softly but sternly. “Caitlin, reel it in. You’ve protected yourself, now you can reel it back in.” It takes a minute, but soon her eyes stop glowing white and her body temperature’s back to normal as she retracts her hands, turning to look at Patty who smiles supportively. “You did it.”

She nods, whispering. “I did it.”

“Go.” They hear Dr. Tannhauser’s voice and spin around abruptly, noticing her leaning against the door, gesturing to Nigel. “I’ll take care of him. No one will ever know.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Cait says sincerely, grabbing Patty’s hand as the two of them run out, quickly making their way to the car and driving back to Star Labs, finding Barry, Cisco and Harry in the workshop. They scare the hell out of H.R. and then the meta-human alert is going off, Barry telling them the monster’s back. “Monster?”

“Yeah. You guys have missed a lot, I’ll explain upstairs.” Barry responds, leading them out.

“We really weren’t gone that long.” Patty mutters to Caitlin, who just shrugs.

After they’ve collectively decided to give H.R. a chance, even once they’ve found out he’s not actually a scientist, Barry heads off to CCPD and Patty finds Caitlin in the Speed Lab, sitting on the steps, clearly lost in thought. “So,” she starts, sitting down beside her, “What’s the verdict?”

“I honestly don’t know.” Caitlin admits, staring down at her hands. “I’ve never really been one to take risks. Ronnie brought a little bit of that out of me but once he died the first time, that went away. And now, I don’t know. I’m not sure if the risk of becoming Killer Frost is worth it. I’m just so angry when I’m her… I feel like my thoughts aren’t my own.”

Patty frowns, patting her arm. “Wait, maybe that’s the key. Maybe you’re like Frankie and Frost is an entirely different person than you. That would explain your hair and the white eyes… maybe the reason you’re always so angry when you use your powers is because Frost is angry that she _doesn’t_ get to use them.”

Caitlin looks up at her in realization. “I think you’re right. I met her on Earth-2. She was… _different_ , that’s for sure, but she wasn’t all bad. If I can just figure out a way to talk to her, maybe that’s how I can control them.”

Patty grins, tilting her head to the side. “Well, there you go. We’ve got our first order of business.”

Caitlin grins back, nodding. “Thanks for coming with me.”

“Absolutely.”

She’s reading on the sofa when Barry comes home, taking his jacket off and placing it on the ottoman like he always does, smiling at her warmly when she notices him. “Hey, how were drinks with Julian?” He frowns, likely wondering how she knew so she just says, “Iris told me. And Joe. We’re all a little surprised, to be honest.”

He chuckles a little, getting a glass of water from the kitchen. “Why is that?”

“Oh, you know.” She says nonchalantly, putting her book down and watching him. “It’s just that you two were friends before Flashpoint, but ever since then you’ve been a little _off_ with him. I guess, we just didn’t know if that would ever change.”

“Well, he had a difficult day.” Barry replies, making his way back into the living area and placing his glass on the coffee table. “I wasn’t gonna say no to the guy.”

“Of course not.” She agrees as he falls down beside her, arm around the back of the couch as she props her feet up over his legs.

He hums happily, placing his hand on her legs and asks, “How did it go with Caitlin?”

“Pretty good, I think.” She says, nodding. “She’s run all the tests in the book and so has her mom. Most of what we know is that the more she uses her powers, the harder they’ll be to reverse, but I think I got her to reconsider getting rid of them. I told her she should embrace them, understand them. She doesn’t have to be evil just because she was on another Earth.”

“Well, look at you. Saving the day.” He says, kissing her temple. “I gotta be honest, I’ve missed you so much over the last three days.”

“Yeah?” She asks softly. “I’m sorry we had to push back the housewarming party.”

He just shakes his head, pulling her closer so she’s resting completely under his arm, head in the crook of his neck. “Don’t worry about it. Everyone’s good for next week, even Martin.”

“Good.” She smiles, sighing contentedly. “So, catch me up. I wanna know everything. Although, I have been getting quite a few texts from Iris about Joe _possibly_ being into DA Cecile Horton, question mark?”

He laughs, nodding. “Iris doesn’t know when to leave well enough alone when it comes to Joe, but luckily for her, I don’t either. Us and Wally are gonna have an intervention. Joe should be able to fall in love freely, just as I have, just as Iris did with Eddie.” She nods in agreement, frowning when he pulls away. “Speaking of Iris falling in love… I told you about the 2024 article, right?”

She nods. “The one about you disappearing?”  
  


“Yeah.” He says. “Before I met you, the article was written by Iris. The byline said: Iris West-Allen.”

“As in, you two were supposed to be married?” She asks, sitting up completely with a frown on her face.

He nods, grabbing her hands. “Yes, but when I met you, that changed. It’s still written by Iris, but her last name isn’t West-Allen. It’s Snow-West.”

Patty’s mouth drops open, eyes wide in surprise. “Caitlin and Iris? I did not see that coming.”

“I know.” He smiles. “That’s why I’m not worried about Caitlin, and you shouldn’t be either. She’ll end up okay and I have a feeling that if something else happens with the Frosty side of her, Iris is the one that’ll be there. Maybe that’s how they fall in love.”

Patty groans lightheartedly, falling backwards. “Why would you tell me this? We know two of our friends’ futures and we can’t tell them. I don’t know how I’m gonna be able to keep this a secret.”

“Uh, you have to, Ms. Spivot.” He pokes her side. “I mean it, telling them might ruin it.”

She squints her eyes, pointing at him. “You just told me because you were dying to talk about it, weren’t you?” The grin on his face tells her all she needs to know.

\--

“Girl, how have we never been here before?” Cisco calls out when the elevator doors open, flowers in hand with Iris and Caitlin stepping in behind him.

“Speak for yourself.” Iris mumbles, taking her jacket off as Barry, who’d been in the kitchen helping Patty cook, walks towards them, welcoming them all.

“Hey, guys. Come on in.” He says, taking Iris and Caitlin’s coats and hanging them in the closet. 

“Don’t mind if I do.” Cisco says, making his way to the kitchen, smiling when he notices Martin sitting at the island, watching Patty cook and not helping at all. “Hey there, Marty. How are you?”

Martin smiles, shaking his hand. “Not bad. I hear you’re gonna be doing the security on the building. How’s that going?”

Cisco frowns confusedly, looking at Patty. “I am?”

She cringes, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry, I meant to ask you about that.”

“Well, I would be happy to.” He says, setting the flowers down on the table.  
  


“Those are beautiful, Cisco. Thank you.” Patty says, drying her hands with a dish towel as Barry, Iris and Caitlin approach. “Speaking of beautiful, you two look amazing.”

“Oh, thanks, hon.” Barry responds, knowing damn well she wasn’t talking about him. Iris just laughs, making her way around the island and hugging Patty.

“You look gorgeous.” She says, Caitlin hugging Patty next, chiming in with. “And this looks delicious.”

Patty giggles, hugging her back tight and then turning the heat down low on the stove. “Well, I hear Joe’s bringing Grandma Esther’s noodles, so my food will definitely not be the favourite on the table, but thank you. Wine?”

“Absolutely.” Caitlin says, waving to Martin. “Hey, Martin.”  
  


Barry gives the two a weird look but brushes it off, flashing over to the dining table and grabbing two wine glasses off of it, pouring Iris and Caitlin some wine in no time as they all gather around the island so that they can still include Patty in the conversation as she cooks. The elevators ding open again and in files Wally, holding a potted plant in his hands with a wide grin on his face. “I got you guys a plant. That’s like, the standard housewarming gift, right?” He says, clearly very excited about it.

Barry grins back, says, “It’s perfect.” and then H.R. walks in, followed by Joe.

“On my earth, we give reptiles.” H.R. says, holding out a glass container. “I present to you Mcsnurtle the Turtle. Careful, she bites.”

Barry takes it off him enthusiastically and barely accepts the hug Joe gives him, too excited about his new pet. “Honey, we got a pet!” He calls out, only to be met with a muffled, “What?” shouted from the kitchen. Joe grins, flipping his own housewarming gift around to reveal a photo of him, Barry and Iris from when they were super young. “Oh, Patty’s gonna love that.” Barry says, leading them all inside. 

Joe takes off his jacket, clapping Wally on the shoulder as they look around. “Wow, look at this place.” They step up into the kitchen where everyone is, Joe kissing Iris on the cheek warmly. “Patty, this place is great.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna assume this was all here _before_ Barry moved in.” Wally jokes, although he’s kind of serious.

“Okay, most of it was me, but the new armchair was all him.” She replies, stirring something on the stove. 

“Really?” Joe asks, surprised.

“Yeah, the armchair’s like, the staple of your place, Joe.” Barry responds, setting the turtle down on the counter. “We had to get one for here.”

Patty gasps a little as she steps towards the glass case, her mouth opening wide. “Oh my god. We got a pet.”

“Hey, Martin. How are you, buddy?” Joe asks the man, shaking his hand as Barry leans in to whisper to his girlfriend.

“Does everybody know Martin?”

Patty frowns, patting his shoulder. “He was at Christmas last year.”

That only confuses Barry more, though he’s quickly distracted by the timer going off as he grabs some oven mitts, opens the oven and starts delivering food to the table, Martin helping him out. “So, Patty told me you’re heading out to see your parents for Christmas, so you won’t be around.”

“Yeah, my dad’s not doing too well, so I figured I should stay down there for a couple weeks.” He responds, shifting around the plates so they can make everything fit.

“Well, if you need anything just let us know. Any of us. We’re always here to help.” Barry says with a sincere smile on his face.

Martin nods, patting his arm. “Thanks, buddy. I’ll take you up on it. I know you’re really busy these days, but you should come down to see them. They’d love to meet you. Besides, a three day trip for me will be like a few hours trip for you. Won’t it, Flash?”

Barry stammers for a bit before realizing there’s probably no point in trying to cover it up now. “How did you know?”

Martin gestures to the kitchen, smiling. “I’ve known that woman since we were still teenagers. She’s a terrible liar, she gets all awkward and panicky. Plus, the amount of times that you’ve somehow ended up in here without passing by me at the front doors. _And_ the fact that you’re never here when there’s some meta-related attack going on in this city. Give me a break, Barry.”

Barry nods, a little astonished, chuckling at how terrible he seems to be at hiding his identity from people who are even a little bit close to him. “Well, I’ll definitely make sure Patty gets up there to see your parents soon.”

Martin grins as the elevator pings again, Barry raising a single finger and making his way over there, smiling when Julian steps through, a bottle of wine with a bow on it in his hands. “Hey, mate. Beautiful place.”

“Thank you.” Barry smiles, taking the wine off of him. “Glad you could make it. We’re just about to eat.” He leads Julian to the kitchen where everyone greets him, Patty thanking him for the wine, Barry moving over to stand beside Joe, who’s moved to the dining table, pouring a glass of scotch. “Is that for me?”

“Yeah. Here.” He hands him a glass, pouring another one. “I have to admit, Bear. I miss you around the house. I’m happy for you, I am. But the part of me that’s your dad sometimes wishes you’re still that little kid who needed a father.”

“I still need you, Joe. Trust me.” Barry reassures, clinking their glasses together. “Hey, thanks by the way. You’ve all really accepted Patty into the family and I can’t tell you how much that means to me. I know it’s a little weird because of the missing few months but she’s… everything to me.”

“Of course, Bear. I’m so happy for you. We all are.” Joe says softly, rubbing Barry’s shoulder. “Every father’s dream for their kid is for them to find someone who feels like home. I just wish your parents could’ve met her.”

Barry snorts out a laugh. “Well, they kinda did. Different timelines, but still.”

Joe laughs, happy with that answer just as Patty announces dinner’s ready, all of them gathering around the table to eat, H.R. standing up to make a toast, tapping against his glass with his drumsticks. “Hey, guys. I asked myself to say a few words, um, on this occasion. A home, you know… it’s more than bricks and mortar, a turtle,” He says, gesturing to McSnurtle. “It’s a feeling. It’s a feeling of belonging, isn’t it? Of love, of course. Hope for the future. That’s what this little party has given me and I’ve only been here twenty minutes. Um, so to Barry and Patty. And to the people that we call home.” He raises his glass as they all cheers, Barry kissing Patty quickly before he tells everyone to dig in, each of them filling their plates with all the food, chatting away.

After dinner, Cait and Patty volunteer for cleanup duty, Patty washing as Caitlin dries, until she lets out a yelp of pain, putting down the dish towel and knife, holding out her hand. “You okay?” Patty asks, wincing as she looks at it.

“It’s not that bad. Stings, though.” Caitlin reassures as Patty grabs her arm to get a better look, only to jolt away, hissing in pain. Both girls widen their eyes, staring down at the wound and then each other as Patty touches it another time, feeling the sting again. “What the hell?” Caitlin says, worried.

Patty just shakes her head. “I don’t know. I’m pretty sure I just felt the pain from your cut.”

“Yeah, and my pain went away.” Caitlin says, Patty looking at her in surprise.

“You’re kidding!” She says, not believing it for a second before she looks down again, grabbing Caitlin’s arm and focusing, the pain increasing.

Caitlin lets out a breath when she’s done, looking up at her friend in wonder. “Patty, I don’t feel anything.”

Patty nods, now holding her own hand. “I feel everything.”

\--

A week later, Patty shows up to Star Labs, ready for them all to head to the park for the movie night, though the rest of the team informs her that Wally’s been having dreams of his life in Flashpoint, most likely given to him by Alchemy and until they can get a handle on it, they’re going to keep him in the pipeline, Barry and Iris opting out of movie night to watch over him, Joe ready to cancel too until his kids convince him to go. “Well, I’ll still come. I love The Shining.” Patty offers, clasping her hands together.

Barry looks at her as if he’s surprised he didn’t know that and she just shrugs, linking her arm with Cisco’s as H.R. explains how his whole pen-looking thing works to mask his identity. When they get to the park, Cisco sends H.R. off to get them snacks rather abruptly and Caitlin gives him a look before turning to Patty. “Cisco knows about Frost.”

He frowns, pointing between the two. “Wait, she knew before me?”

  
“Don’t be jealous, Cisco.” Patty laughs. “Cait was a real stick in the mud about it.”  
  
“I was not!” She starts to defend herself before sighing, realizing they’re right. “Okay, well the good thing is, Cisco vibed me in the future. He saw me looking like Frost, but I wasn’t hurting anyone or committing any crimes.”

Cisco nods, finishing for her. “She was just a regular ol’ gal. Helping out the team, looking badass.”

“Well, that’s a relief.” Patty says, squeezing Caitlin’s arm. “Does that mean you’re going to embrace your powers? Try and figure out why the _other_ you is so angry all the time?”

Caitlin smiles, letting out a breath. “I think so. Harry created this cerebral inhibitor that we used on Grodd that I think might let me talk to her, we just have to tweak it a little.”

Patty grins, pulling her in for a side hug. “You do that, you train a little bit, you might just be in the field with Barry soon.”

Caitlin snorts, though she returns the hug. “Maybe one day. Baby steps.”

Patty nods, repeating. “Baby steps.”

\--

“This is so hard.” Iris says, feet leaning up against Cisco’s desk - he’ll probably kill her for that later - as she forces snacks into her mouth. Barry sits beside her, cheek resting against his hand as he nods in agreement. “He so badly wanted powers and now, to keep him locked up so that he doesn’t get them… it just seems cruel.”

“I know.” Barry says, though it prompts Iris to remove her feet and sit up straight in her chair.

“I don’t think you do, Bear.” She says, shaking her head. “All Wally wants to do is help people, And to see you do that everyday while all he can do is stand by and watch, it’s hard being a bystander sometimes.”

He frowns, also shifting in his seat to look at her. “Tell me you don’t feel the same way.”

“Barry…” She scoffs, tilting her head. “Come on. My contributions here are limited. I don’t know science, I don’t have powers. I don’t know how to help you.”  
  


“You help me.” He says firmly. “I couldn’t do any of this without you. Everything good I’ve tried to do since I got these powers has come from all of the people around me. How much they love me, how much they believe in me, and how good I want to be _for_ them. Trust me, there is no Flash without Iris West. There never will be.”

She thinks for a second and then nods, leaning back in her chair. “Yeah. I suppose that’s true. Thanks.” She pauses for a minute, biting her lip before she speaks again. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, um… is there something going on with Caitlin? She’s been so distant lately and all closed off. I just hope it’s not me. I mean, I know you said in the other timeline that we were close, but it’s not exactly the same now, you know?”

He nods, patting her knee. “It’s not you, promise. Although, if you’re worried about her, it can’t hurt to ask her out, maybe? I mean, not on a date. Or it could be on a date, if that’s what you wanted. I think that could be a good match but again, no pressure. I just meant that you and Patty have seemed to get pretty close again, so I figure you still have that chance with Caitlin, if you want it. Or if you want something else. You know, either one.”

She giggles a little at his ramble and he tells himself to shut up as she speaks again. “Uh, yeah. I’ll do that. A friendship date. Lunch, or something.”

He nods a few times, playing with his fingers and returning to the screen, which immediately lights up with Cisco’s panic button at the park. Barry’s gone in an instant, arriving at the scene just as Cisco, Caitlin, Patty and H.R. are filing into the van, Cisco lighting the park up at just the right moment so Barry can cuff Shade. 

When they’re back at Star Labs, Wally knocked out in his cell after an altercation with Iris, she paces the floors as everyone stands around her. “You guys, it was like he was possessed. That was not Wally.”

Barry and Joe go back and forth about there not being anything they can do until H.R. suggests that the Shade attack and the attack on Wally were coordinated and meant as a distraction, so it’s likely that Alchemy will send another meta their way so they don’t have the time to stop him. “We found six husks.” Joe says. “So besides Shade, Magenta and Clariss, there are three other metas unaccounted for so far.”

“On the topic of other metas,” Caitlin starts warily. “It’s not the best time, but I have powers.”

Iris frowns, crossing her arms. “What kind of powers?”

Cait raises her hands, frost falling off of them. “The cold kind. Look, I don’t have a handle on them right now but I think I might have found a way. We don’t have the time to train me but I don’t know. Patty and I have been talking about it.”  
  


Patty nods, adding, “Maybe we could split the team. Half of us focus on the metas, other half on Alchemy. If these are really supposed to be distractions, then we can’t let them work. We can’t ignore these metas but Alchemy has to be our main priority somehow.”

Both Barry and Joe nod. “That could work.” Barry says before looking at Caitlin. “I believe in you. If you think you can get your powers under control or even just _hope_ that you can, I think you could be a real asset, not just for your brain. I’ll help you anyway I can.”

“So will I.” Iris says, smiling at her hesitantly, though Caitlin returns it gratefully, before pointing to the monitor they had on Wally and saying, “He’s up.”

They rush in, Joe and Iris helping him up and asking how he feels, only for Wally to suggest they use him to find Alchemy. “No way. We’re not asking you to do that.” Barry argues, arms crossed. 

“He wants me. He’s hurting me.” Wally says, starting to stand. “So let me fight back.”

Just as he rises to his feet, he falls again, screaming out in pain as his entire body shakes, Joe and Iris latching onto him and trying to put him back on the bed. Patty exchanges one glance with Caitlin, who shakes her head as if telling her not to do it, but Patty ignores her, stepping forward and wrapping a hand around his arm, taking on as much of the pain as she can without it being unbearable. Her face morphs into agony but it’s not too bad, enough that they can get Wally on the bed as he asks, flustered, “How are you doing that?”

“What _are_ you doing?” Barry asks frantically, clearly worried as he peers at her twisted face.

Caitlin pushes him out of the way before Patty can respond, telling Joe to turn Wally over before she sticks a needle in his side. “Lorazepam. It’s a mild sedative, it works on seizures.” As the pain goes down, Patty lets out a sigh of relief and removes her hand from Wally, the rest of the room looking at her in confusion. “Are you okay?”

“Well, now I have a headache.” Patty says, Caitlin opening a drawer and pulling out a tylenol, handing it to her wordlessy.

As Patty takes it, Caitlin explains. “Last week, I cut my hand. When Patty touched me, she felt what I was feeling and the pain went away for me.”

“That’s what you did for Wally.” Joe fills in the blanks, Patty nodding as she swallows her pill.

“I didn’t take all of it. I figured even sharing it was better than nothing.”

Iris lets out a bewildered breath, mumbling, “Does everyone have powers now?”

Barry just stares at his girlfriend silently, Joe speaking up. “Well, look. Either way, I don’t think we have a choice here anymore. Doing nothing seems to be just as dangerous as using Wally to find Doctor Alchemy.”

“Need I remind you that Doctor Alchemy has a rock that shoots lasers, so who knows what he has up his sleeve?” Cisco chimes in, Iris suggesting soon after that they’re walking into a trap. None of these points seem to do much to sway Joe’s decision.

\--

After, when Wally’s sitting in the medbay inside of a cocoon-like thing, Caitlin’s used her frost powers in the field for the first time to save Barry from an invisible force, and Cisco’s had a mini-stroke from the force it took to create his own breach, they all gather together with Wally, Caitlin telling them she doesn’t think it’s wise to cut him out of the cocoon if this is his transforming process. Joe leaves all flustered, never one to sit still and then Iris is staying with Wally, Patty following Barry out to the hallway when he gives her a look that says he wants her to. “So, are we gonna talk about this… _pain power_ thing?” He says, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

“Is that really our priority right now?” She asks genuinely, only to receive a look from him that tells her it definitely is. “Okay, what is there to talk about?”

He frowns at her as if it’s obvious. “How long have you known? How far do they go? How the hell did you get them?”

“Will you relax?” She says, crossing her arms to mirror him, slightly frustrated. “I know we’re all tense here but I found out at dinner. Excuse me, if I wanted to sit in it for a bit.”

He deflates, squeezing his eyes shut, looking at her tenderly when they open. “I’m sorry. I’m just…”  
  


“I know.” She nods curtly, hesitating before walking over to him, letting herself be wrapped up in his arms. “You’re… guilty. You think that this is happening because of the mistakes you made with Flashpoint.”

He pulls back slightly, still keeping his arms around her, peering down at her confusedly. “Is that a powers thing? Because I swear, you’ve been able to read me like that for a long time.”

She shrugs, sighing. “It’s weird. I can’t really tell yet. It’s just a feeling.”

He squints his eyes at her, thinking. “You know, you used to say that in the other timeline, too. Actually, now that I think about it… when my dad died, everytime you’d hold my hand it got _lighter_ somehow. And you always seemed to know what I was feeling.”

“Maybe this isn’t a Flashpoint change after all.” She suggests, tilting her head to the side. “But like I said, we don’t really have the time to poke and prod me right now. Let’s go find Alchemy.”

He hesitates for a second, wanting to stay in their own little world for a few more minutes, but he eventually relents, letting her lead him into the Cortex where the others are coming up with a plan to track down the other members of Alchemy’s clan. Cisco creates an algorithm that tracks who in Central City has recently searched up Savitar, and comes up with two houses on two separate streets. Joe and H.R. take one, Patty and Cisco taking the other as the other three opt to stay behind and look after Wally. When they return, neither of Alchemy’s disciples know who’s behind the mask, though they both divulge that Alchemy is not who they serve - Savitar is.

As they’re discussing it, the floor starts to rumble and they look towards the medbay to see Wally’s cocoon deteriorating, Wally’s hand sticking out, covered in some sort of goo. They all rush in, helping get the shell off of him and then he’s up, a little sticky, but his eyes have lightning shooting through them. “Oh my god.” Is all Barry gets to mumble before Wally grins, leaving them in a flash.

When he returns, overly excited, they get him to the Speed Lab and watch as he runs the track, similarly to when Jesse first got her powers, as Caitlin runs her tests, informing them that his vitals are good and he’s also faster than Barry when he first got his speed - a trend Barry Allen does not love.

The next few days are mostly spent the same way; testing Wally with the addition of now Caitlin and Patty, noticing a few details they can’t ignore, but also don’t really understand. Patty’s powers have clearly come from dark matter, though in this timeline, she wasn’t in Central City for the first particle accelerator explosion, and nowhere near Star Labs for the second one to get Barry his speed back. Caitlin doesn’t have any dark matter in her system at all, which means her powers must have come from the timeline changes and not a dark matter wave. Wally doesn’t have dark matter in his system either, his coming from Alchemy.

They start testing Patty’s powers with the pain element first; Iris, being the only non-metahuman volunteer, cuts her arm and lets Patty experiment with it a few times, Iris being a total champ through the whole thing as Wally races around the track, working on getting faster and faster - he’s reached Mach 2 in no time. Caitlin mostly works on de-escalating her powers, considering most of the times she’s used them, it’s been out of her own control. Barry helps a lot with that, mostly using positive reinforcement and H.R. weirdly comes in handy with some meditation techniques that help Caitlin’s brain slow down enough so that she can focus on reeling it in.

“I have an idea.” Caitlin says, once she’s taken a break from working on herself and has moved onto watching Patty do her thing. “Patty, if you were really taking Iris’ pain and transferring it onto yourself, Iris should be healing.”

“I don’t feel any pain but there’s definitely still a cut.” Iris says, rubbing her fingers over the now bandaged finger.

Caitlin hesitates for a second before speaking. “I think you’re manipulating reality.”

Joe frowns, clearly not understanding, though he’s not the only one that’s a little lost. “Isn’t that Cisco’s thing?”

“Not exactly.” Caitlin clarifies, getting up from her seat by the monitors and talking with her hands. “Cisco manipulates interdimensional energy to his will. I think Patty’s powers have more to do with telekinesis, so psionic energy. There might be a bit of interdimensional energy too, but I’m not sure.”

Barry steps forward, face twisted in concentration with a hand on his chain. “Wait. So, you’re saying that _theoretically_ , Patty might be making Iris _think_ she’s not feeling any pain, but she is.”

“Exactly.” Caitlin nods, turning to Patty. “And I think that you might not even have to feel any of Iris’ pain. That must’ve just been the first thing your brain thought of to make sense of the experience you were having, but you should be able to stop Iris from feeling anything without taking it onto yourself.”

Iris purses her lips. “Only one way to find out.” She says nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders and looking at Patty. After another test, it works - Iris is able to be free of pain as well as Patty.

It’s only then that Patty starts to get super excited about her powers. “Wait, if I manipulate reality, what the hell else can I do?”

“Some real comic book shit.” Cisco responds, chuckling to himself before the satellite alarm goes off and Barry’s gone, Wally a little upset when he’s told he can’t go with him. It’s quiet a few minutes, Barry’s comms having been cut off until they hear his frantic voice come on.

“ _Guys! Aliens!”_

\--

None of them really sleep much after Barry comes back and explains what they saw, but they can’t do much until the morning when they gather in the Cortex, watching the news stations announce what they’ve been told by the government to cover it up. Barry meets Lyla at the scene and then it’s not long before she’s at Star Labs, explaining everything they know about the Dominators. “So, the plan isn’t just to stay still and do nothing, right?” Wally asks once she’s gone.

“Barry, you heard Lyla. You can’t do this alone.” Iris says, only earning a small smirk from him.

“I don’t plan on it.”

He saves Oliver and John from vigilante just in time, even though Oliver doesn’t seem too grateful and Dig is too busy puking over the balcony of Felicity’s loft. Her and Thea stroll in, smiling when they see him - he can admit, it’s been longer than he’d like, even after confiding in Felicity once he created Flashpoint. “Hey, Barry. What was so urgent you had to rush to Star City?”

There’s no easy way to say it, so he decides to be blunt. “Aliens.”

“Aliens?” Oliver asks.

“Aliens.” Barry clarifies as Dig comes off the balcony wiping his mouth.

He sighs, pointing to Barry. “I swear to god, Barry. My life was somewhat normal before I met you.”

He cringes, nodding. That’s fair. “I know, I’m sorry. Look, they’re real. And they’re already here. And from what Lyla told us, they do not come in peace.” Felicity gives him a look that says he shouldn’t have said that and Dig practically storms out, leaving the rest of them behind without another word. 

“Well,” Thea says, all too cheery. “Count me in.”

Oliver frowns. “For what? I thought you retired.”

“Yeah, but it’s aliens!” She says cutely, Felicity grabbing her arm.

“Oh, that is so cute. You guys are just gonna get together and go fight some aliens - have you lost your minds?” She yells, eyes wide. “They’re aliens. And there’s only _four_ of you.”

She’s got a point.

\--

When they all meet at the Star Labs hangar and the Legends have arrived, Cisco creates a breach as he and Barry go find Kara, bringing her back just as everyone seems to be asking where they are. He introduces Kara, she shows off a little bit of her alien talent and Felicity practically squeals, way too excited given the circumstances though Barry must admit, a team-up like this is the coolest thing to happen to them in a long time, and seeing his friends is definitely a pick-me-up from all the Flashpoint shit he’s been dealing with. As Kara goes around getting to know everyone, most of them stay in their team formations except for Caitlin, Iris, Felicity and Patty who stick by the front projector, where Cisco’s setting up their monitors with everything they know.

“Wait, so you have cold powers all of a sudden,” Felicity points to Cait before turning to Patty, “And you have some weird reality warping powers.”

“I just found out last week.” Patty clarifies. “We’re super early into learning about them, so don’t expect any help from me.”

“Or me.” Adds Caitlin.

Felicity just hums unbothered as Kara finally turns to them, pointing as she says their names. “Felicity, Caitlin, Iris, and Patty. Who, I have to say, I’ve been dying to meet the girlfriend Barry talked about the entire time he was on my Earth.”

“I thought you two broke up?” Oliver calls out, only to be met with both Barry and Patty yelling at the same time, “Complicated!”

Barry gathers everyone around and starts to explain what they know, Kara jumping in with what she knows about the Dominators from the stories she learned as a kid as Oliver suggests they fight against Kara as a test run and then they’re off training, Ray informing Barry that Snart’s dead until Stein and Jax pull him and Ollie into the truck, showing them a recording sent from Barry 40 years in the future, telling them not to trust him. “We have to tell everyone.” Jax says.

“Are you nuts? We’re about to go up against aliens. Do you really want to divide our team now?” Oliver interjects. 

“They deserve to know the truth.” Barry says, looking up at Oliver and trying to convey that he has to do this; he has to take accountability for his actions and apparently, listen to his future self.

“Some of our lives are different? Like who?” Kara asks, after Barry’s received a berating from Sara and the Legends.

He takes a breath, gesturing to his own team. “Cisco, Caitlin, Wally, Patty… Dig.”

Dig frowns, confused. “Me?”

Barry nods once. “In the other timeline, John Junior didn’t exist. You only had baby Sara. Now you have both.”

A ghost of a mile appears on Dig’s face, looking to Oliver who returns it with his eyes. “I have two kids instead of one? That’s not so bad.”  
  


Barry huffs, looking down. “Well, you’re about the only person whose life I actually made better.”

Felicity jolts in her chair, standing up with a worried look in her eye as she stammers the words out. “That’s Lyla. The Dominators have the president. They need us now.”

Barry nods in acceptances, wringing his hands together. “Look, you guys go. I’ll sit out. You guys get the president, we’ll talk about this later.” Kara walks over to him, patting his shoulder as he speaks quietly, so that only she can hear him. “You still trust me?”  
  
“I’ll always trust you.” She says warmly and sincerely, as the other start to walk out, only for Oliver to stop them.

“Guys, this is crazy! Everyone is going, including Barry. I’m not going without him.” He says, though none of them seem to agree except Dig, who just pats in shoulder in solitude.

Kara steps over, raising her hands like it’s not a big deal. “Look, it’s fine, Oliver. We’ll get the president, you stay here.”

Barry takes Oliver to the time vault once they’ve left, and literally gasps at the article he asks Gideon to bring up. “I didn’t think about the future.” He whispers. “I was so focused on the past… I didn’t think about it until now. I’ve changed so much.”

“What is this?” Oliver asks, stepping forward.

  
“An article from the future. It’s a story about me vanishing in some Crisis. It used to be written by Iris, but now the byline’s changed.” Barry says, voice hoarse. “Something’s happened with her. God, what did I do?”

Oliver immediately moves to comfort him, divulging stories of his parents’ deaths that Barry’s never heard before, genuinely stating that he would’ve done the exact same thing. “We all make choices that affect other people, Barry. Time travel or not. That’s the secret of life. Everything we are comes from other people and the impact they’ve had on us. You need to stop beating yourself up about this.”  
  


Before he can say much else, there’s a comm call from Cisco in the Cortex about all the heroes showing up outside Star Labs, looking about ready to fight them instead of the Dominators. After Barry gets Supergirl to blow out the orb and their mind-control is over, everyone in the field except Barry is being dragged up into the Dominators’ ship. It’s quite a few hours later when they get off in an escape pod, getting sucked in by the waverider and then next thing they know, they’re in a fight with government agents trying to trade off Barry’s life.

“I know what you’re thinking and no. Absolutely not!” Patty says, hanging onto her boyfriend’s arm, everyone else standing around them inside the hangar.

Barry moves away from her, frowning. “Get out of my head!”

“I literally don’t know how!” She says, still unsure of how to control her newfound powers.

Barry huffs, hands on his hips as he looks around at them. “Guys, this is the only option. It’s one life for the entire world.”

“Look, I don’t like you, Red.” Mick says, looking a little annoyed with the conversation. “But even I know that when you got a crew, you don’t take a hit for the rest.” Staring around at the team, he knows none of them are gonna let them do it, so he just squeezes Patty arm as they start devising a different plan. 

A different plan that ends up _working_ , miraculously.

When it’s mostly over and they’ve been honoured as heroes by the president, they gather in the hangar once more for a little after-party, drinking out of flasks and making amends with each other, due to Barry’s time-travel mistake and Oliver’s mean stay-out-of-the-way speech to Kara. As they pull out of their group hug, Cisco walks over and pulls Kara away, giving her the interdimensional extrapolator so she can come over to their earth anytime, Oliver and Barry sticking together to chat a little. “So, this evil speedster you briefly mentioned when you first showed up in Star City… how bad?” Oliver asks, effectively bringing Barry’s mood down.

“Apparently, he’s not just a speedster. He’s a _god_.”

The look on Oliver’s face is almost comical but he wipes it clean immediately, blowing out a breath of air. “You know what? I’m actually glad I live in Star City.” He pauses. “How are you gonna beat him?” Barry shakes his head, looking a little stressed and Oliver just taps him, gesturing to Team Flash standing a while behind them, chatting. “I know. With them.”

Barry nods, glancing over to his family quickly, a grateful look in his eye. “Yeah. That’s what we do as heroes, right? We’re no good without the people that love us.” He says, Oliver agreeing. He pauses for a second before speaking again. “I know you and the team have all had a… _rough_ year, and we’re both busy, but if you ever need to come down here for _anything_ , Patty and I have a spare bedroom.”

Oliver nods, actually smiling a little bit as he claps his shoulder. “I appreciate that, Barry.”

Barry smiles back, hesitating before saying his next bit. “And listen, I don’t know if you’re still struggling with the Felicity thing… I just, I know how much you love her. And, not to stick my nose in or anything, but my girl’s pretty good with predictions and for some reason, she’s certain that you two will find your way back to each other. I’ve learned to trust Patty when it comes to these things.”

“I _do_ love Felicity, but…” Oliver starts, unsure of how to word it. “I don’t know. We’re both trying new things, trying to move on. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t… then I guess I’ll have to trust your girlfriend, too.”

Barry grins at that, wanting to say more but they’re approached by the rest of the team, all getting ready to say their goodbyes. He watches as Patty and Kara hug, the latter promising to come down for a visit soon. She hugs Sara, too - honestly, Barry didn’t realize she was a hugger but he doesn’t know about a lot of things these days - and then she’s pressing the extrapolator and stepping through a breach without much of a goodbye. Sara says goodbye to them as well, running off to her spaceship and then Patty’s tugging on Barry’s jacket. “Ready?”

“Actually,” He starts, looking to Ollie. “You feel like getting a drink?”

Cisco laughs a little, linking his arm with Patty’s. “Guess you’re riding with me, girly.”

Patty gasps, looking at him with her eyebrows raised. “Oh, it is almost Christmas. You know what that means?”

Cisco grins widely, pointing at her. “Justin Bieber Christmas Album?”

“Justin Bieber Christmas Album.” She agrees, voice light as they skip off together, not saying a goodbye either.

Diggle sighs, a little exasperated. “We’ve got one friend running over to her time-travelling spaceship like it’s no big deal and then those two nerds over there who are gonna drive a lab truck home while listening to a teenage pop singer’s Christmas album. This is not normal.”

Oliver chuckles, leaning closer to his friend. “Like you said, life has not been normal since we met that one.” He says, pointing to Barry.

He had normal. It wasn’t nearly as full as this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter: the future ;) + xmas !!

**Author's Note:**

> title from "If This Was A Movie" by Taylor Swift
> 
> leave a comment with what you enjoyed or just like. leave your opinions on what i mentioned in the previous notes! I love hearing what other people have to say about this show and the characters & ships!


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